Friday, November 8

Today was another good day. At the beginning of school today, the whole school gathered in the gym for a Catholic mass for the month of Santa Maria. They prayed, sang, and took communion. It was the first Catholic (and in Spanish) mass I’d ever been to and it was very different from what I was expecting. Everything was very programmed and ritualistic. During some prayers there were little hand gestures (like forming crosses on your hear or banging your chest with your fist) that they all did at the same time and I was surprised. It was a very interesting experience, and I’d like to go to more Catholic masses just to experience such a big difference from what my church in the US is like. After school I went with my mom to set up her stand for the Kermesse (which is like the school’s annual fair with games, rides, and a bazaar where venders can sell their stuff). She was going to teach little kids how to make crafts—they could choose to make a headband, sock puppet, or mosaic—and I was going to help her teach. When we got there, a few of my classmates were there helping their parents set up the stand for our class, which would be selling typical Chilean food. We talked for a while, and I had fun with them because they aren’t really my close friends so it was nice to have an excuse to bond with them. I helped them set up the Rancho Chileno decorations, and I wrote all of the signs for the booth that said what they were selling.

Then I went and helped my mom set up her booth.

After about 3 hours, we went home. My mom’s friend who had also come to help set up was going back to her house which was right next to the movie theater, so I asked her to take me because I was supposed to meet my friends there and I didn’t want to inconvenience my mom. I got there early, and so I walked around the grocery store nearby for a while until Katie showed up. We talked for a while, and then when Mery came, we decided there were no good movies to watch and we would rather just get pizza, so we went to Papa John’s nearby, ordered a combo for all of us, and then sat down and talked for a while. We had been waiting for the pizza for like 30 minutes before it was ready, and just as we got it, Pitu, our other friend arrived and we all sat down to pig out. We were in Papa John’s until like 11:30 talking and eating pizza.

I had a really good time, and I really like hanging out with those girls. They are so sweet and definitely some of my best friends here. It was nice to have an almost normal conversation with people, filled with jokes and laughter, after I had been feeling so left out and lonely at the beginning of the week. My dad came to pick me up, and when we got home I was pretty tired so I watched a little TV and then went to sleep.