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.