Saturday, August 17

This morning I woke up around 10, very tired from the night before. Nancy, Cristobal, Grandma, and I went to the hair salon together. Cristobal got a haircut and Nancy, Grandma, and I got our hair done. I got my hair straightened and braided in the front in a style that I didn’t really like and that was so tight it actually hurt a little bit, but I couldn’t exactly take it out, so I told them I love it and left it in all day. The hair salon was definitely an adventure because it was not in a commercial building. It was a house in a neighborhood that had been converted into a hair salon.

After we all finished getting our hair done, we went home. More family members had arrived (I forget all of their names!). We ate lunch together, and Nancy began furiously cooking for the party. I was going to help her so that I could learn more about cooking, but then Cristobal invited me to go watch him play soccer one last time. Maxi, Eric, and Uncle Rodrigo were going to play too. My cousin, Maria Jesus, who is also 17 (but she’s a senior at a school about an hour away in Talca) went with us to watch. We sat and talked and watched Cristobal and his friends playing. They have so much fun playing soccer and it was actually really fun to watch! The ride back to the house was a little stinky with 4 sweaty guys packed into the car, so Maria Jesus and I were glad to get back.

 

 

There was a lot more family there for me to meet. I met a lot of aunts and uncles and cousins and I don’t even know who else. I feel really badly that I can’t remember all of their names because they were all so sweet and welcoming. The party started and we all went outside to the backyard. I drifted between groups introducing myself and meeting all the family. Eric introduced me to his friends. We had a barbeque and I ate a little bit of ribs (actually that should be rib singular since I only had about a half). Then came the speeches. Eric made a long speech about Cristobal, and then he invited me up and said something about me too. Then, he asked me to speak! I awkwardly fumbled through my first public speaking experience in Spanish, but I hope everyone understood how thankful I am to be in such a close and caring family.   Next came the dessert buffet. Nancy has been cooking for like 2 days straight so there was a lot to choose from. I had some sort of pudding made with a fruit I’ve never heard of and some apple pie. Maria Jesus and I went to eat in my room with our young cousins Florencia  (6) and Josefa (8) and Montserrat.

They are so adorable, and they really loved me. They kept hugging me and telling me I was pretty. I think I’m going to have fun with them. We went back outside to watch the adults sing karaoke for a little while, and then I was really tired so I went to my room to sleep. Monse was laying in my bed. She said she was really tired and asked if she could sleep here; I agreed to share my bed with both her and Jasmin (our Yorkie).