Friday, February 21

Today we woke up late in Talca and I went for a run. Then we basically just chilled out and relaxed the whole day, which usually makes me feel antsy and annoyed that I’m wasting time, but it was actually really nice after such a long and draining vacation. Maxi and I watched TV for a while, and then I watched a little bit of Harry Potter 8 with Monse (although after the trip I’d really had it up to here with movies). In the afternoon after lunch, I decided that I wanted something sweet. I introduced my family to cake in a mug.

Where you put all the cake ingredients in a mug and put it in the microwave for 3 minutes and you have your cake. They loved it and went crazy over how simple the recipe was. Then Nancy and Abelita decided to return the favor and teach me a recipe too. We made the cheese filling for cheese empanadas, and then I helped Abelita make and roll out the dough into flat circles for the empanadas. Then I decided I wanted to go for another run. As I was tying my shoes, Nancy came up to me and told me to pack a change of clothes into my backpack because we were leaving for the campo (where we went for September 18) to stay the night. It was 8 at night, but she decided we were leaving in 15 minutes and there could be no other questions asked. Nobody else wanted to go, everyone complained about the short notice, and Nancy knew that I needed to get home to Rancagua the next day to finish an important scholarship essay and turn it in. None of that mattered and we went anyway. That’s when I finally put my finger on what is weird about this family. The parents have a lack of respect for their kids. I know that they’re just kids or whatever, but even when  I was young my parents always listened to me, took my opinion into consideration, treated me like I mattered, and explained situations to me in advance instead of springing things on me and giving the only explanation of “because I said so and I’m your parent”. With their kids, sometimes we’ll be in the car and the kids will ask a question like “when are we stopping” or “turn up the volume” and the parents won’t even acknowledge that the question was asked. I just feel like it’s a lack of respect and consideration is all. This really made me realize how amazing the parents that  I have are, and I immediately asked Nancy to share internet with me so  I could send my mom a message telling her how much  I love her. Having that mutual respect with my parents is something I miss a lot. We got to the campo and I was in a pretty bad mood, but then all the people greeted me, and I decided to have fun anyway and make the best of it. There were new cousins there that I hadn’t met before—Felipe (13), Fernanda (16), and Connie (19). Miguel Esteban, Octavio, and Maria Jesus were also all there. I had fun hanging out with them and getting to know my other cousins. We talked for a while, I taught them how to play ERS, and Fernanda taught me how to do the waterfall braid. Then we went out to the kitchen with the adults and I showed everyone how to make s’mores.

They all loved them, and I felt really awesome to be able to share a part of my life in the US with the people here. We stayed up talking until like 3, and then we all went to sleep.