Thursday, September 26, 2013

Tuesday, September 24


Today I had to wake up early for school for the first time in a long time. I was not happy. But when I got to school and saw all of my friends again, I was actually really glad to be back. It was then that I realized that I really do love these people! Today at school was picture day, so after lunch we all went outside to stand on the bleachers and take a class picture. We had to wear the other school uniform, the red polo shirt and skirt without tights underneath. It is finally warm enough to wear that instead of the white button down blouse and tie!
They don’t take individual pictures, only one of the class, so we finished pretty fast. Then, after school, I came home and worked on my blog for a while. After my dad got home, he, Maxi, and I went into the center of town to try to get Maxi’s play station fixed.
Then we got some ice cream and walked around for a while.
When we got home, I decided I wanted to go to the Jumbo to buy a few things and to try to get some money off of my credit card. I told them I was going alone, and my parents were a little worried. I convinced them, and I know that they worry only because they care about me, but I was really shocked by the lack of freedom I have here. In the US, my parents let my friends and I drive to LA alone, and here I can barely even walk to the grocery store a few minutes from my house. Anyway, when I got there and tried to take money out of the ATM, it wouldn’t work. I was confused and annoyed, but I eventually gave up and went to buy with the Chilean money I already had. I bought bread for the family, paper to decorate my walls in my room, and Nutella as a birthday gift for Coti, whose birthday is tomorrow. I paid at the cash register without a problem (once I open my mouth everyone knows I’m foreign, and they try to be super considerate and help me out) and then walked home. I was wearing my school uniform, so I did get a few cat calls or whatever, but honestly it wasn’t a problem and I felt completely safe. When I got back, my family was eating dinner, so I ate with them. Then my mom and I decided to make crepes filled with manjar, and so we spent the next hour or so working on them. She fried the batter while I filled the crepes. By the time we finished it was pretty late at night, and so I took a shower and went to sleep.

Monday, September 23


Today I woke up around 10 to find everyone already awake. Nacho arrived from Talca, and Seyla and my aunt were still here too. We all ate breakfast, and then I got ready. We all went out to the Jumbo to look at shoes for Seyla, since they are a lot cheaper here than in Argentina. Nacho, Maxi, and I got bored, so we walked around the mall area and looked in the stores. We had fun pretending that I couldn’t speak Spanish and having me try to ask workers in the stores things in English. After a few hours of looking, Seyla didn’t find anything, so we drove over to another mall in the center of town. She found shoes like right away, and then we went home to have lunch because we were all starving. Then, we sat around and talked for a while before Nacho, Seyla, and my aunt left for the bus station to take them to Santiago and then to take Seyla and my aunt back to Argentina.
At the same time they were leaving, Katie and her host brother came to pick me up and take me over to her house. Katie and I hung out in her room for a while, talked, and looked at her pictures on Facebook. It’s really fun to talk to Katie because I can actually talk as much as I want. In Spanish I’m usually pretty quiet because I have nothing to say. It was a nice break after speaking nothing but Spanish all week. Then, her parents called us downstairs to eat dinner with them. We talked for like an hour, and they were really nice to me. I think they were pretty impressed with my Spanish because I do speak more than Katie does. Going to Katie’s house was nice, but also a little awkward because supposedly Katie and I are supposed to switch families in the middle of the year (Rotary says that this is a better way to get a more well-rounded perspective of the culture). We don’t want to switch (because it would just be awkward and a hassle and we’re both happy) and we’re going to ask Rotary if we can stay, but still it was kind of like meeting my soon-to-be family for the first time, and it was weird. But if I had to switch, I think I would be happy there too because they seem very nice and welcoming and happy to have an exchange student in the house. When I got home, I showered, got ready for school the next day, and went to sleep.

Sunday, September 22


Today we woke up really late after last night. We ate breakfast, packed up the car, cleaned the barf off of the backseat (without ever telling anyone it was there), and then we said goodbye to the countryside and drove back to our grandparents house in Talca. There, Jesus, Seyla, Maxi, and I sat down and talked for a while, and then lunch was served. Every meal here is like a huge deal, served family style with giant plates in the middle. It is always way too much food, but the food is always amazing. After lunch, Seyla, her mom, and my family all drove the two hours back to Rancagua. When we finally got home, we all made pizza together, ate dinner, and then Maxi and Seyla gave Yasmin a bath while I took a shower myself. Later, I Skyped with Melanie and worked a little on my blog. Then I went out and watched the end of the Hunger Games and talked with Nancy and my aunt. Around 2, I was really tired and I went to sleep. It was kind of nice to be back with just my family because although I had a great time in the country with everyone, it’s hard to get around the fact that I’m an outsider. I don’t have the history that the rest of them do, and I can’t really participate in the conversation because I don’t understand enough. Also, seeing how much all of them love and care about Cristobal is hard for me. They are always talking about him and asking how he is doing and sharing stories that he has told them over Skype. This makes me sad for two reasons. First of all, no matter how petty this may sound, I am jealous that they love him so much and I don’t have that bond with them. I wish they would spend their time trying to make friends with me instead of lamenting the fact that Cristobal is gone. Since I am only here because Cristobal left, whenever I hear someone say “oh I miss Cristobal so much” it kind of feels like a personal rejection. Also, I am jealous that Cristobal has such a big and close family. He has like 40 people asking about him and clamoring to Skype with him, and I haven’t even received an email from anyone outside of my parents. Nobody in my family really seems to care how I am, and I guess I wasn’t expecting any different. I was always fine with the way my family operates (we basically only talk once every few years), but now that I’ve seen Cristobal’s family, I am starting to wish for a closer family for myself. Hopefully by the end of the year, I will truly be able to call this family my own and they will fill that hole in my life.

Saturday, September 21


Today we all woke up really late again after staying up so late the night before. I got dressed, and we all ate some breakfast and talked for a while. Then Miguel and Jorge came back over with motor bikes and invited us all to take turns riding on the back.
It was so much fun, and they offered to teach me how to drive one if my family came back over the summer. I hope we do. Then Jorge, Miguel, Seyla, Jesus, Nacho (my other cousin who arrived from Santiago last night), Maxi, and I walked to the store to buy some food, and hung out and talked for a while. Later, Nacho and I went to the park to play with the younger girls, Flo, Josefa, and Monse for a while. They are literally the cutest things in the world, and they really love me. They’re always yelling for me to come and play with them, and I love them so much. When we got back to the house, my mom had laid out a giant table full of every possible dessert including pies and a chocolate fountain. It was fantastic. I think the kids got more chocolate on their faces and clothes than in their mouths, but either way it was really yummy and also incredibly fattening (sidenote: I am already gaining weight! I really need to start exercising more and eating less but the food here is just so good! I think I’m going to have to accept the fact that I’m going to return to the US fat). Then, we went inside to get ready to go to the party that night. Nancy drove Maxi, Pedro (another cousin), Seyla, Jesus, Nacho, and I, and then we picked up Jorge and Miguel on the way. When we arrived at the bar, it was like 11, but we were the first ones there. Then a bunch of Jesus’ friends whom I had met at the rodeo arrived and we all sat down on this raised platform with couches and they ordered drinks and we talked for a while.
Everyone was really nice to me, especially the guys, and I know it was just because I’m new and my eyes are blue, but I appreciated the attention either way. After a while, everyone started singing karaoke, and even though I didn’t know the songs (or understand the lyrics for that matter), I sang too, and they passed me the microphone for a little while. Then, they turned off karaoke and the DJ came on. A guy whom I had been talking to earlier came up to me and asked me to dance. I agreed, and we were the first ones out on the dance floor.
I don’t know how to dance in America, and here the dancing is a lot more complicated than the jumping and/or grinding we do at dances in the US. This is hip shaking and rhythm and way more fun. I was enjoying myself until the dude started getting a little too close to me and putting his hands on me more than necessary. I got uncomfortable, so I excused myself to go to the bathroom, and when I got back to went over to my friends and we danced together (Except here it’s like weird to dance in a group; you have to have a partner. I danced with my cousin Nacho, but like a bunch of our friends partnered up and danced close together so it was basically a group.) I am by no means an incredible dancer, and yes it was a little awkward and embarrassing because basically having Latin blood automatically makes you a fantastic dancer and I was the only awkward clumsy gringa, but  I had a great time and we literally danced almost without interruption for 4 hours.
 
As people got drunker, things got funnier.
People started trying to talk to me in drunk and broken English, and it was hilarious. Then, around 3:45 (Nancy was picking us up at 4) Leo came up to us and told us that Jesus was really drunk after taking like 4 shots of Tequila, and that we should go help her. When we went outside to see her, we knew immediately that it was going to be a big problem. She was completely wasted. We walked her out to the car, and got her to sit in the back seat with me and Maxi in hopes that Nancy wouldn’t notice anything was wrong. During the car ride home, she threw up on the seats and the whole car started smelling like vodka. When we got to the house, I immediately asked Jesus to come with me to the bathroom, and we linked arms and walked to the bathroom. I left her there and went out to talk to my cousins. Nancy came in looking suspicious and asked to smell each of our breath. We all passed her test, and then she waited for Jesus to come out of the bathroom. We were sort of silent, and after waiting for a few minutes, Nancy knocked on the door and made Jesus open up. She found Jesus throwing up, and she seemed kind of angry, but she just calmly told us all to go to sleep and that she would deal with this. We didn’t want to make her any angrier than she was, so we all went.

Friday, September 20


Today we woke up super late after staying out late the night before. We ate breakfast, and I took a shower. The water constantly switched from burning hot to freezing cold; it was not a pleasant experience and I decided I hate showers in the country. Almost immediately after that, we ate lunch, and then we went to a rodeo that was nearby.
When we arrived, the whole town was there. We watched little kids try to tackle a pig, barrel races, bull riding, and people trying to lasso horses. It was entertaining, but also kind of brutal on the animals. Then, the mayor of the town, who was sitting on a horse in the center of the ring, told everyone that he had a special announcement. He told the whole crowd of probably eight hundred people that “we have someone from the US here with us today named Alexandra B-R-Y-A-N-T (he spelled out my name because I guess he couldn’t pronounce it)”. Then he asked where I was and I timidly waved. He rode over and started talking to me in front of everyone. I didn’t understand everything, but I did understand when he said “wow the girls are really hot in the US” and “do you want to marry me?”. I was very uncomfortable first of all because I wasn’t sure I understood and second of all because I had absolutely no way to respond. I just awkwardly smiled and laughed. He invited me to come down and ride a horse in the corral, but I declined because I was already embarrassed enough. Then, the rodeo ended and a bunch of Jesus’s friends came over to say hi to her and to meet me. They were all super nice and they invited us to a party on Saturday night. While we were walking out, this cowboy asked me if I wanted to get on his horse and take a picture, so I did it.
Then, we went back to the house, and Jesus, Anais, and I watched a movie, and I played cards with my younger cousins.
Later, we went into the kitchen (which is actually an outdoor oven and fire pit covered by a roof) and helped make sopaipillas, which are a traditional Chilean food. Then Jesus’s friends Miguel and Jorge came over to hang out with Maxi, Seyla, Jesus, and I, and we sat around and talked and laughed until 5 in the morning. I tried to teach them phrases in English and they tried to teach me bad words in Spanish and I had a great time. Talking with all of them was probably the most fun I had the whole trip.

Thursday, September 19


Today we all woke up really late, like around 12.Maria Jesus and I were kind of laying in bed still waking up, when our younger cousin Monse, Flo, and Josefa came in carrying a rabbit. I touched it, only to realize that it was dead! Apparently Charly had caught it in one of his traps this morning, and was planning to smoke it and then eat it. I guess that’s the deep country for you.
We ate breakfast, and then went outside to fly kites. Flying kites is a very popular tradition during the week of September 18th. I was pretty bad at it, so I let Maxi launch the kite and once it was safely in the air I took the string.
After a while, the adults called us in to eat lunch. We ate, and then Seyla, Maria Jesus, and I walked over to the house of one of Maria Jesus’s friends Leo. Jesus lives in Talca, so she comes to the country a lot more. She has a big group of friends here who all live in Talca and come for vacations here. We walked into the house and talked with Leo’s family for a while (as is the custom here) and then Leo offered to give us rides on his motorbike. We accepted, and we each took a turn riding in the back of the bike down the dirt road. It was exhilarating!
Then we walked back to the house. Later I went with my cousin Anais on like a 10 minute walk to this tiny one room store to buy sunflower seeds. On the way back it started raining and we had to run. When we got back, I ate dinner, talked with the adults for a while, and then Leo picked me, Maxi, Jesus, Seyla, and Camillo up in his truck to take us to a party. The party was at a bar in town, but when we pulled into the parking lot here were literally no cars. Apparently 11 here is way too early for a party to start, so we went to a store and bought some alcohol and took it up to this hill overlooking a lake. They drank, and we talked, and I froze to death because it was so cold and so windy. Then we left and went back to the bar. There were still no cars in the lot but we decided to go in anyway. When we walked into the room, it was literally empty.
There were lights, and a DJ in the corner blasting music, and a bar ready to serve drinks, but literally no people. I thought we would leave because this was an incredibly awkward party, but they decided to stay. They ordered drinks from the bar (I was really surprised that they would serve people under age here) and we danced for a while (awkwardly because I am not a good dancer to begin with and it was infinitely more awkward because there was nobody else in the room). We stayed until like 2:30, and then Leo took us home, we sat around the table and laughed for a while about how terrible the party was, and then we went to sleep around 4.

Wednesday, September 18


Today we woke up early, ate breakfast, and packed up the car to drive out to the country, where we would be staying for the rest of the week.
The car was completely full of people, food and suitcases, and by the time we got to the country (we drove for about 40 minutes); I was so ready to get out and stretch my legs. When we pulled up to the house, I realized it was basically in the middle of nowhere. I mean we could see other houses, but they were all spread out and connected by dirt roads and surrounded by fields. When we arrived, a lot of the family was already there, and so we went around and greeted everyone (some I met for the first time, others I had met before), and then we went out and decorated the house for the 18th.
Later, Maxi and I went out with our little cousins to the park, and after a while we went for a walk around the country. We ducked under fences and came in contact with horses, fields, and abandoned houses. Then we went back to the house and an uncle of ours brought out his rifle. We practiced shooting cans off the roof, but it’s a lot harder than it looks and I didn’t even get close.
Then, some of the adults were dancing Cueca, and they invited me to join them. I think they just wanted to laugh at how badly the gringa dances Cueca, but I humored them and danced a few times with Eric.
Then, we all sat down to eat dinner, we talked for a while, and I got to meet Charly. Charly is a neighbor of the family who is somehow always over at the house. His Spanish is literally impossible to understand because he has like his own slang that he made up himself and only he uses and expects everyone else to understand. Everyone thought it was the funniest thing to watch me talk to Charly, so he told me ghost stories. Then, me and my cousins Maria Jesus, Maxi, and Camillo decided to walk through the fields to this abandoned and supposedly haunted house. It was dark and spooky and dirty and quiet, but definitely not haunted.
I laughed and walked up to the house and started making jokes about ghosts, and they all looked at me like I was crazy. Apparently it is normal in the countryside to believe in ghosts. They all truly believe that “things have happened” that are paranormal. I still don’t believe any of it, but it was an interesting contrast to being surrounded by skeptics in the US. When we got back, we went with Nancy to pick up my aunt and my cousin Seyla from the bus station. We were going to visit them in Argentina, but since we couldn’t they came to visit us. After we got home I was pretty tied, so after we talked for a while longer, I went to sleep. The house has 4 bedrooms, and there were about 25 people sleeping there, so I had to share a twin bed with Maria Jesus. It was freezing cold and pretty uncomfortable, but I was too tired to care.

Tuesday, September 17


Today I woke up late, and then I put on my sports clothes and went for a run around my grandparents’ house. After a while, I ran past one of Maxi’s friends that I had met last night. I stopped to talk to him and he offered to show me another place to run. We walked over to like a little strip of grass next to the highway and he was like ok you can run here and I’ll keep you company. We ran for like 2 minutes and then I decided it wasn’t really worth it because I wasn’t getting any exercise, so then we just walked around for a while and talked. I found it much harder to understand him than other people, and later Maxi told me it was because he was from a lower social class and hadn’t received as good of an education. After I got back to the house, I showered and then we all went to the farmers’ market to stock up on vegetables for our trip to the country. We walked through the stalls for like 3 hours looking for the cheapest and most perfect vegetables and fruits. Nancy is a perfectionist when it comes to food.
When we finally got home, we had a late lunch (it was like 5 by then) and then Nancy, my grandma, and I cooked some desserts and I worked on my blog. Then my dad called over Skype, and the whole family talked to him in Spanish for like 2 hours. It was weird. I’ve been hearing my dad speak Spanish for years, and I always thought he spoke perfectly. Like without an accent and with proper grammar and everything. But listening to him now, I can hear the accent and pick out the errors. I definitely am not even close to surpassing him in terms of fluency, but at least I know I’ve improved a little. My goal is to speak as well or better than he does by the end of the year! After we finished, a bunch of people came over including Vale, and we hung out for a while and ate dinner. Then we all Skyped with Cristobal.
After we finished, Monse, Nancy, Vale, and I drove up to a hill called Cerro La Virgen, which is famous for having the most beautiful view in Talca. All the lights were gorgeous by night, although it was absolutely freezing cold. When we got home I was super tired and fell right to sleep.
 


Monday, September 16


 
Today I woke up early, packed up my suitcase again, and was ready to go. Then Nancy came out of her room and told me that we wouldn’t be able to go to Argentina after all. The place where we needed to pay the tax is currently on strike and is closed indefinitely. I was kind of sad not to be going to Argentina, but they said that we would go another time next month, so I was fine with it. Instead, we left our suitcases packed and decided to drive south to Talca to stay at the house of my grandparents.
We left around noon, and then we stopped at Papa John’s for lunch. Then we drove for about an hour before we stopped in a little artists’ village called Chimbarongo to look at the weavings and furniture.
We drove the rest of the way to Talca and finally got to our grandparents house. There were about 10 people already there, whom I didn’t know, but were all very nice. We talked for a while, baked bread, and Maxi and I talked with our cousin Vale, who is really nice and super willing to talk and laugh with me. I went outside for a little while later that night with Maxi to meet his friends Gonzalo and Sergio. The meeting was kind of awkward, but they were nice enough, and they taught me some new bad words in Spanish. I came back inside and played cards with some of the adults because they all wanted to see the gringa playing traditional Chilean card games. I’m actually not half bad at Escoba, so I was more than willing to play. All of the other visitors left around 11. After that, we got in the car and took a quick tour of the city by night, and then we came back, unloaded the car, and I got ready for bed. We went into the kitchen to drink some tea and talk for a while, and then around 2 I got tired and decided to go to sleep.
 

Sunday, September 22, 2013

Sunday, September 15


Today we woke up early, packed, and were ready to go by 11:30. It was really different getting ready for a trip with another family because they have a pattern of preparation that is very different from the pattern that my family follows when we are getting ready to go to Mexico. They are a lot less organized, and everything took a lot longer than necessary. I just tried to help wherever I could. We finally headed out, and after a little while, we stopped at a gas station to get lunch. Then, a few hours later, we stopped at another gas station for a bathroom break, and when we tried to turn the car on again, it wouldn’t start.
Maxi and Eric had to walk to a different gas station nearby while Nancy, Monse, and I sat outside the car and played cards. A mechanic came and used jumper cables to start the car, but the battery was still weak, and so for the rest of the trip we didn’t turn the car off again for fear that it wouldn’t start back up. We drove up into the Andes Mountains, and as we climbed higher, we saw more and more snow until the whole world was white with high, impressive mountains on all sides. When we finally passed through a tunnel into Argentina, I was really excited.
We got into the customs line at the border, and that was when our next set of problems started. First, we had to go to a special room and fill out a form and pay a fee of $160 because I am from the US. I have no idea why, but the fee only applies to people from the US. When we got back to the car after paying the fee, the customs officials came to talk to Eric. They told him that there was an outstanding tax on the car that he hadn’t paid, and they couldn’t let the car into Argentine. We would have to go all the way back to Rancagua to pay the fee. We had no choice but to turn around and go back to Chile. The customs line to get back into Chile was long, and so Maxi and I got out of the car with the floor mats, and went “sledding” with the mats on a nearby hill.
It was the most fun I had all day, although when I got back to the car I literally couldn’t feel anything in my hands, and as they warmed up again they hurt like never before. We made it through customs and back into Chile. Then we wound our way down the mountains and back to Rancagua. I listened to music and Maxi and Monse slept. We arrived at the house around 11, and I was asleep by 12 because we were planning to wake up early the next morning for our second journey to Argentina.


Saturday, September 14


Today I slept in late because I had been tired basically all week. I showered and got ready, and then I packed my suitcase for our trip to Argentina. It took me a lot longer than expected, and when I finished we all sat down to have lunch. When we were done, my mom drove me over to my friend Cata’s house. It was her dad’s birthday, and so they were having a giant family party and she invited me over to meet everyone. Her family is the sweetest! She has a bunch of cousins who are about her age, and we all sat around and talked for a long time and they were all really nice and welcoming. We laughed so much. I really like hanging out with Cata.
She is so sweet and she always makes an effort to include me. She is definitely one of my best friends here. My mom came to pick me up around 7, and then we went home and got ready for the family friend’s birthday party. We were supposed to leave for Argentina during the night after the party, but the pass in the mountains was closed because it was snowing, so we had to wait until the next morning. When we arrived, the house was absolutely packed with people. We talked for a while with some people that we knew, and then I went to find Nacho and Maxi because I was bored. They were playing soccer, and so I played with them, but I wasn’t really into it. It’s kind of awkward when all your friends are guys and you have the option to play soccer with them and be really awkward and bad and feel like you’re holding them back from having fun, or you have the option to go hang out alone with the parents. I was saved from the awkwardness when I met another girl Pazi, who was my age and also didn’t know anyone at the party. We stayed together the whole night and talked a lot. She was super sweet and wanted to know a lot about my exchange. I had a good time talking to her, but by 2, I was really tired and happy when my parents told me we were going home. When we got home, Maxi and I watched a movie for a while and then we went to sleep.

Friday, September 13


Today I had to wake up early for school so that I could put on my Hausa dress and do my hair. We were all supposed to come to school dressed up in traditional Chilean outfits. When I walked into the classroom in my Chilean dress, everyone cheered for the gringa dressed up like a Chilean.
First they had their last accumulative test, so Katie and I went to the library to talk. Then, we went back to the classrooms and took some pictures with our friends in our Chilean outfits. Then there was a big assembly for the whole school in the gym.
There were dance performances, we sang the national anthem, and a few people gave speeches. Then we were allowed to go get empanadas, the traditional Chilean food. We ate our empanadas in the classroom and talked for a while, and then we went back to the gym to watch the Cueca competition.
Anyone who wanted to dance could, and everyone encouraged Katie and me to dance because it was our first and only time in Chile for Independence Day. Katie was too shy, but I decided to go for it. I danced with my friend Diego (not Juan Diego, because I really didn’t want to give everyone any more reason to tease us), and it was basically a train wreck, but I had a lot of fun and we laughed the whole time.
After school, I went to my friend Coti’s house. Her little brother was having a party for his classmates, and they were going to play traditional Chilean games, so I wanted to see it. We talked for a while, watched a movie, played Just Dance, and went for a drive in her neighborhood (Coti has her learner’s permit, so I was “teaching her how to drive”). After a while, one of my neighbors whose kids were at the party offered to take me home. I went, and when I walked in the door around 9, my mom was waiting for me. We immediately left to go to a family friend’s house to help her cook for a big party they were having the next day. I helped cook for a little while, and then I went to hang out with Maxi and Nacho (Nacho is the son of the family friends). We played cards, ate pizza, and watched funny YouTube videos (although they were in Spanish and I didn’t understand enough to get all the jokes). We left around 1, and when I got home I was so tired that all I could do was get in bed and sleep.

Thursday, September 12


Today at school was uneventful again. We had the accumulative PD4 test, and Katie and I decided to go to the library and talk instead of taking the test. While we were there we met up with Antonia and Daniel, who are here from Canada and New Zealand. Apparently they never go to class and they basically just go to the library all the time and talk and never take tests or do work. It was pretty fun to just be lazy and talk to them in English instead of going to class, but I don’t think I’m going to make it a habit because I really do want to learn here and I’m not going to learn much swapping exchange stories in the library with English speakers. After school, we had sports until 4:30. Then my mom picked me up and we went home. I talked to Maxi for a while, and then changed my clothes and went with Nancy to the art class she teaches every Thursday in the center of town. I like talking to the people there, and I like seeing what they make. They were really happy that I came back again, and they were interested to know how I was adjusting. The room where she teaches classes is right next to a phone service provider.
One of the men in the class offered to give me a tour of the center. I got to see all the machines that route the calls that come to and from Rancagua. Although I didn’t understand most of the Spanish (what with all of the technical, esoteric words), I understood the basic functions of each of the rooms he showed me, and it was all very interesting.
I like all of the little privileges I get because I’m an exchange student. People are always willing to show me things or explain things to me without thinking I’m weird for wanting to know. After the class, Nancy and I went to her massage appointment. We talked to the woman giving her a massage, and I read a book. When we finally got home, it was like 10:00, and I still had to shower, dry my hair, and prepare my dress for the next day. I didn’t get to sleep until like 11:30.

Wednesday, September 11


Today was the English accumulative test at school. When I walked into class, I suddenly felt really popular. Everyone wanted me to answer questions about English grammar, and everyone wanted to sit near me during the test. I let them, and during the test I did my best to let everyone around me see my paper (I don’t know if I’ve mentioned this before but here literally everyone cheats. They are horrible! They have little papers with all the answers, they take pictures of the tests, they write on the desks or on their hands, all kinds of creative methods. I always find it hilarious to watch them preparing before a test). The English test was super weird. Like I understood most of it, but there were some where two of the answers sounded equally correct in the context and others where the sentences were actually grammatically wrong. But in my first Rotary orientation, they advised us never to correct the teachers on their English, so I kept my mouth shut and took the test. I never actually got my grade back, so I don’t know how well I speak English hahaha. After school, we have art until 4:30. Katie and I decided to go to choir today instead of art because they were reviewing how to dance Cueca, and we wanted to learn. It was incredibly awkward because the teacher invited me up in front of the whole class to teach me how to dance. I had to dance with him alone while everyone watched. To make things worse, the zipper on my skirt is broken and it was down the whole time! So fricken embarrassing!!! But I just smiled and laughed at myself and made the best of the awkward situation. After that, the teacher put on some music and said that anyone who wanted to could dance. My friend Fernanda’s boyfriend Vicente invited me to dance so I could practice. I don’t think the practice helped because after the class I was still pretty terrible, but at least I had a little fun making a fool of myself. After school, Lila, Angulo, a few of their friends, and I walked over to the music store nearby. They all had music lessons, and I went with them to ask about how I could join the orchestra. They told me I just had to show up for the next rehearsal on September 28. My mom picked me up from there, and when I got home I ate a quick dinner and then went for a run. After I got back, I showered and then Nancy tried to teach me how to dance Cueca. We danced a few times and looked at some videos on YouTube, and I got a little better, but not much. I think it’s time for me to accept the fact that I am simply not a dancer. I drank some tea, and then went to sleep. Oh I almost forgot to mention that today was September 11. Obviously today is a very important day in the US, but it was also an important day in Chile. It was the 40 year anniversary of the military coup that killed communist president Allende and started the military dictatorship of Pinochet.

Tuesday, September 10


Today at school I was really tired. We had the accumulative math test today, and since I like math and I understand it better than any other subject here, I decided to take the test. I understood most of it, and I actually ended up getting a better grade than the majority of the people in the class. Also at school today, a bunch of people came up to me and asked if Juan Diego and I were dating. I was really confused and said of course not. They had seen a photo of him and I at the movies that he had posted on Facebook. Apparently in Chile going to the movies alone with a guy is a date. I had no idea because in the US guys and girls who are friends are allowed to go to the movies together. Now everyone makes fun of me for going on a date with Juan Diego and I have to keep explaining to a million different people that we are just friends. I guess now at least I won’t make that mistake again. I’m just worried that he actually did think it was a date, and I don’t want him to be hurt that I don’t feel the same way because he really is a good friend. Joaquin didn’t have a ride home after school, so he came over to our house for a while and he, Maxi, and I watched the Chilean national soccer team play a game against Spain. After Angulo left, I decided that today was going to be an incredibly lazy day.  I worked a lot on my blog (I’m really behind right now), and I watched TV with Monse. We ate dinner, and I Skyped with Ana for a while. I don’t know how it happened, but I ended up going to be late again. Time just gets away from me and I always end up going to sleep late here.
My Chilean friends read my blog and decided they wanted to be in a picture! Here you go guys! :))

Monday, September 9


Today we had to leave for school a little early to drop Nacho off at the train station. School was basically uneventful, except that this is the last week of the trimester and so the whole week we have accumulative tests that are like really important. Today was history, but I decided not to take the test because not only would I not understand much of the Spanish, I actually wasn’t here to learn most of the material. Instead of taking the test, I read a book (La Lista de Schindler—Schindler’s List in Spanish). After school, my friend Juan Diego invited me to go to the movies with him. We went to see City of Bones, which I had been wanting to see for a really long time because I read the books and they were really great. We watched the movie in English, and it was good, but not as great as I had hoped. After the movie, Juan Diego and I waited outside for his mom to come pick us up and we talked for a while.
He is really friendly, but I was starting to get worried that he liked me as more than a friend, and I don’t like him that way. His mom picked us up and took me home, where Nancy and Monse were waiting for me. We left immediately to go eat dinner at the home of one of Nancy’s art students. We stayed there for like 4 hours talking and laughing with a few of Nancy’s students. They were so friendly with me, and I was pleasantly surprised that I was able to understand most of the conversation. I had a great time, but by 11:00 I was ready to go home. I was really shocked that Nancy would keep Monse and I out so late on a school night, but nobody else seemed surprised that we were staying so late, so I guess it’s just a cultural thing. When we got home, I was so tired I could barely stand up, so I took a quick shower and went to bed without drying my hair.

Sunday, September 8


I had to leave Sally’s house early the next morning because my cousin Nacho and I were going to run a 10k in Rancagua. I woke up at 8 and Sally and I went down to eat breakfast with her parents. We left for my house around 8:30. On the way home I got a call from Nacho asking where I was. I was confused because the race didn’t start until 10. Then he told me that the clocks had been changed the night before and it was actually 9:30 and not 8:30. We had to walk quickly to the center of Rancagua for the start of the race. When we got there, we realized that the race was not going to start on time. We watched the runners from the 2k finish, and then all the 5k and 10k runners were called to the starting line. We ran through the streets of Rancagua, and I had a great time. It was different to see the city on foot. Nacho and I didn’t talk much because it’s basically impossible for me to speak Spanish while I’m out of breath from running, but I had a lot of fun running with him. He had to run a lot slower than usual for me, and we finished the race in an hour and 6 minutes (super slow I know don’t judge me). We walked back to the house and everyone was just waking up.
We showered and then helped Nancy cook lunch. Then after lunch, everyone decided to bake cupcakes (which are much less common here than they are in the US). Nacho found a cupcake recipe in Spanish, and I found one in English. We decided to make both and have a competition to see which came out better. We made mine first, and I was pleased to find that I could easily translate all of the ingredients into Spanish. Before we made Nacho’s, Maxi and I had to ride our bikes to the store to get more eggs. On the way out, we saw a magic show in the Jumbo shopping center. Then we rode home and made Nacho’s cupcakes.
By that time we had made about 60 cupcakes. We then took out sprinkles and frosting and decorated all of them. Finally we got to try them. Nacho won. By a lot. But whatever I’m not a sore loser! Then we ate dinner, Maxi showed us some card tricks, and went to sleep around 11.

Saturday, September 7


Today I had to wake up super early to go to my first Rotary orientation. I was really really excited to meet all of the other exchange students. I feel like I have a special connection with all of them because they understand exactly what I’m thinking and feeling. All of the exchange students from Rancagua met at the bus stop at 7:30. There are 7 of us—Sally (the girl from California that I met earlier), Katie, Pierre, Nigel, another girl whose name I forget, and Jose, who is from Chile and went on exchange two years in a row to Canada and Germany. Jose and I had talked online a lot, so it was really fun to finally get to hang out with him in person. We all got on a big tour bus, and it took me a minute to realize that everyone on the bus was an exchange student. We drove for about an hour to Santiago, and I talked a little with the people around me. We all talked in English, even the people from France and Germany, because nobody felt comfortable in Spanish. There were about 60 exchange students there! When we arrived in Santiago, we all got out and they served us breakfast while we all talked and traded pins and got to know each other. We had to go into a room and listen to a few presentations about the rules of Rotary, what not to do while on exchange, and some information about the trips we will be going on throughout the year. We had some breaks where all the exchange students got to go outside and talk. When the presentations were finished, everyone had to go outside and get their money (each exchange student gets $100 per month). Everyone got their money except for the people from Rancagua because our counselor hadn’t paid yet. I was kind of annoyed because I’ve been here over a month and I still haven’t received my money or been invited to meet the Rotary club.


Next, we all got back on the bus and drove through Santiago to this rural mountain area. The bus dropped us off at the base of a big hill and we all had to walk up the hill to this big building. In the building were stalls serving food, and in the center were people dancing Cueca. We all were served empanadas, and then we stood around and talked for a little while. Then, Jose came over and invited me to dance Cueca with him. I told him I had absolutely no idea how to, but why not? So we went out on the dance floor with some other people and “danced” (which basically means he danced while I awkwardly tried to copy him while laughing at myself). Later on, there was a show of professional dancers, and after they finished, the men went into the crowd and invited people to come dance with them. I agreed, and once again made a fool of myself trying to dance. It wasn’t pretty, but it was definitely fun, and I was really proud of myself because I was the only exchange student brave enough to dance. It was something completely out of my comfort zone that I would never do in the US, but that’s why I’m here right? To take advantage of every opportunity I get. After the show, we were allowed to wander through the food stands and buy what we wanted to eat. I took the opportunity to drift between groups of exchange students and try to meet everyone. I really liked them all, and I can’t wait to spend more time with them at other Rotary events. We took a bunch of pictures; exchanged phone numbers and pins, and got on the bus to go home. I sat with Katie and Jose, and we laughed basically the whole way home.


Sally had invited me to sleep over at her house that night, so her dad came and picked us up at the bus stop and we went to her house. We went up to her room and put all the pins we had collected that day on our jackets. Then we went down and ate dinner with her parents (she doesn’t have any host siblings). I was so shocked by how much her Spanish has improved in a month. When we met for the first time she spoke like literally no Spanish, and now she can have complete conversations with people. We talked to them for like an hour, and then we went up to Sally’s room. I love Sally so much because we are a lot alike, and even more so because we are both in Chile and experiencing the same weird exchange student moments. We talked about how awesome Chilean people (and Chilean boys) are, we tried to memorize the Chilean national anthem, and we practiced dancing Cueca together.