Today we had to wake up early to get on the road to Vina del
Mar, where Katie’s family had invited me to spend the weekend with them. We
packed up and ate a quick breakfast, then got on the road for a 3 hour car
ride. Katie and I decided to speak Spanish together during the trip, so we
talked the whole time on the road in Spanish. When we got to Vina in the
afternoon, the whole family was starving, so we threw our stuff in the hotel
(Katie and I had our own room), and then went to eat lunch in this restaurant
on the water in a nearby town called Renaca. We ordered a bunch of plates of
seafood for us all to share. I was really proud of my bravery because I tried octopus,
mussels, crab, and all the things I usually get grossed out by when my dad orders
them in Mexico. After lunch, we drove around through ConCon, another nearby
beach town, and we rolled down the windows and sang Spanish songs all together
in loud voices. It was a great time. Then we parked the car and walked along
the beach in Renaca and drank smoothies. Then we went over to a park called the
Quinta Vergara, where they have this giant concert stadium for the Vina music
festival. We walked around the park and the stadium for a while then went to
the famous Vina flower clock to take the obligatory tourist picture. Later, we
went to an artisan fair and looked at the crafts for a while. We met a woman
selling her woodwork there who was from California and had been living in Chile
for 25 years. It was really interesting to think about how much her life had
changed from CA to Chile, and interesting to think of how my life has kind of
changed in the same way. After, we went into the center of town (after the
obligatory stop at Starbucks obviously) and Katie, me, and her 2 brothers rode around
the city and alongside the ocean in one of those horse drawn carriages called
Victorias. It was a very cool experience. By that time it was dark outside, and
we went to an outdoor fair along the boardwalk where we ate churros filled with
manjar and bought Vina souvenirs and Katie and I got these cute braids in our
hair with shells. We were wearing shorts and freezing cold, so we booked it
over to this Mexican restaurant nearby to eat dinner (first guacamole I’ve had
in almost 5 months). Then we all went back to our rooms in the hotel to sleep
because we had a big day tomorrow. Katie and I looked out our window and found
that there was like this roof thing and so obviously we had to climb out and
sit with our feet dangling over the edge of the hotel and look at the people
walking on the sidewalk below. We talked about how much we love to travel and
how much we want to travel all through Chile, and we made a pact to plan a trip
together. I hope it actually works out and our parents let us backpack alone
for a little while in the summer. We were so excited about planning our future
trips that we didn’t get to bed until like 1.
Thursday, December 26, 2013
Thursday, December 19
Today I woke up early again, this time to go to Maxi’s
premiacion. This one was a lot more important because Maxi is super studious,
and he won a lot of awards. I understand how great it is to finally be
recognized for every day hard work that usually goes unnoticed, so I made sure
to make a big deal of all the awards he won. During the day, Maxi and I stayed
home to take care of Monse, who was sick and throwing up. We actually had a lot
of fun together making jugo de durazno from scratch and telling dirty jokes.
Another thing I’ve noticed here in Chile is that women here do not make sexual
jokes around men. I know that among guys they are super dirty, but when women
are there, they just don’t do them. In contrast, my friends and I can be all
together, guys and girls, and we will tell jokes regardless of the company. I
complained to Maxi about how much I miss stupid dirty jokes, and so he agreed
to start including me. I feel like that means we’ve reached a new level of
friendship and trust hahaha. Anyway, I also finished all my college applications
today, and sent them in to the universities. So I’m finally done with that and
I feel like I’ve had a weight lifted off my shoulders. Now I’ll have more time
to spend with my family and less time to spend worrying and stressing and
procrastinating on college apps. After I finished, Katie H’s mom came to pick
me up and we went together to the office of Techo Para Chile to turn in raffle tickets
that we were supposed to sell for the community service trip we’re doing in
January. Then we went to Katie’s house, where there were a bunch of her brother’s
friends over. We sat talking to them for a few hours (nothing is ever a short
conversation in Chile), and then we went up to Katie’s room, each of us took a
shower, and then we sat talking for a while with her little brother Julian.
Julian is hilarious and absolutely hyperactive crazy, and I can see how he
could get annoying as a brother, but I had the best time ever with him. He’s so
funny and not ashamed to do really weird and funny things. We stayed up till
like 2 and then we were so tired that we all fell asleep on Katie’s twin bed
together.
Wednesday, December 18
Today I got up early and got ready to go to Monse’s
premiacion (it’s like the end of the year awards ceremony). The class meets up
in their classroom and they get medals for things like “most athletic”, “teacher’s
choice”, “best classmate (chosen by students)”, and “overall GPA”. Monse won
some good awards, and it was really adorable to see how happy she was. Then
Nancy and I dropped Monse off at home and we went to the feria (farmers’
market) to buy fresh fruit and veggies. We spent like an hour there and by the
time we had everything we needed my hands were about to fall off from carrying
around all the bags of heavy fruit. Then we went home and ate lunch and I
walked over to the Jumbo to meet Cata and go Christmas gift shopping. I was
really happy to see Cata again because she is definitely one of my best friends
here and one of the people I missed most. I had left my purse with all my money
in it at Katie’s house, so I told her all about Patagonia while we took a micro
over to Katie’s. When we got to her house, I realized that although she had
told me her parents would be there, there was no one home. I decided to try the
gate and surprisingly enough the lock was open, so I went it. Then I got to the
front door and it was locked, so I went around the back to the sliding glass door
that had been left completely open. I went up to Katie’s room and grabbed my
stuff and then left like nothing had happened. Basically, I broke into Katie’s
house. Then, Cata and I waited for a micro to take us back to the Jumbo. When
we got on the micro we were the only ones there, and while we paid the guy, he
took one look at me and asked me if I was a gringa. I told him yes and he said
he had met another gringa on the micro not too long ago. I was totally shocked
because just yesterday Katie had told me about a micro driver friend that she
had made. He asked Cata and I if it would be ok for him to stop the micro and
the depot and go to the bathroom really wick and we said sure. He left us alone
on the micro and so obviously the first thing I did as give Cata my camera and
go sit in the driver’s seat and pretend to drive the micro. Then the driver
came back and saw me “driving” and laughed and asked if I wanted to drive for
real. I said yes of course, and he told me to go sit in the seat up front with
him (where usually no one is sitting), and although I didn’t actually get to
drive because another passenger wanted to get on, the driver talked to me the
whole way back to the Jumbo and ended up giving me his number and inviting me
to his house in the country. He even pulled the micro over to take a picture
with me before Cata and I got off. When we left the micro I confessed to her
that I hadn’t understood a single word he had said to me and we laughed a lot.
Being an exchange student is so fun because something weird and crazy and
awesome always happens to me. Then, we walked over to Cata’s brother’s pastry
shop and I got to see the back room where they do all the cooking. Then we went
to the Jumbo and I bought a cookbook of chicken recipes for my mom (a joke
since I don’t eat beef), a pillow and slippers for my dad (because he always
works and doesn’t sleep enough), a puzzle game for Maxi, and some Violetta
(Monse’s favorite actress) pencils for Monse. Then I said goodbye to Cata and
went back home. Directly after going home, I walked over to the restaurant
where Chichi works and waited for Thomas and Ale to arrive. We surprised Chichi
by eating at her restaurant. It was nice to sit and talk with them and I really
felt comfortable like they were just as much my friends as they were each others’.
Around 9, we were still sitting outside at the restaurant, talking to Chichi
when she came by and talking amongst ourselves, but it was absolutely freezing,
so Thomas called his sister to take us home. She dropped me off at my house,
and I had just gotten out some cherries and was planning on relaxing a little
with Monse, when Marianna called me and invited me to her house. She lives on
the other side of the Jumbo, so like a 10 minute walk, but it was dark and I
wasn’t sure if it was a good idea. I went anyway, and she, Vicente, Augustin,
and Stefano were having an asado on the patio of her apartment. They are really
hilarious people and I need to spend more time with them because there is
absolutely never a dull moment. We sat around and talked and played never have
I ever and other games until like 12:30. It was really late by then, so Vicente
walked me home. I told him he didn’t have to but it was really nice of him to
do it and I appreciated it a lot. I was really tired by the time I got home so
after talking to my parents a little while, I went to sleep.
Tuesday, December 17
I woke up early today because my friends and I were planning
to meet at my friend Lila’s house to bake and then have a sleepover. My friend
Camila was going to pick me up, but she never told me when. I send her a text
asking and all she responded with was “I’ll let you know when we’re almost to
your house”. So I made myself busy in the house washing the dishes and doing
some chores (our nana Sra Adela had a surgery and isn’t going to come back to
work for a month, so now we have to clean everything and it’s actually more
work than I thought because they’re used to everything always being so perfect.
I’m in charge of washing dishes, keeping my room clean, vacuuming, polishing
the furniture and floor, and keeping the living and dining rooms organized).
Around 12, I sent her another message asking what was up, and she told me she
had gotten hung up doing something with her mom in the center of town and
actually wouldn’t be able to go to Lila’s or give me a ride. I was kind of
bummed because I really wanted to see my friends again after such a long time,
but I just sat back and resigned myself to a boring day at home. Then Katie
Ward called me and told me she was at the Jumbo looking for Christmas presents
for her family and that I should come help out. I went over and we looked in
the Jumbo for a while then took a collectivo to the center to keep looking. I
bought nail polish and a hairbrush for Monse because she always steals my
hairbrush and I always steal her nail polish. I also bought a snapback for Maxi
because he always wears this knit hat and I thought he needed something a
little more summery. Then Katie’s cousin Mery called and invited us over to
Katie’s grandma’s house to go swimming. We took a micro to Katie’s house, I
borrowed one of her bathing suits, and we went over to Katie’s grandma’s. Mery
and Pitu were there baking cookies. It was so fun to see them again after such
a long time away. We told them all about our trip to Patagonia and they told us
what they’d been up to. Just as the cookies were done baking, Rosario came over
too and we all sat at the table and ate cookies and then went outside and put
our feet in the pool and talked for a while longer. Then we went upstairs and
laid on the bed in one of the many rooms in her grandma’s fricken mansion and
watched YouTube videos from Katie’s and my towns and high schools in the US (I
showed them the marching band show from last year hahaha). Pitu’s sister drove
me home around 11 and I was dead tired so I talked to my family for a little
while and then went to sleep around midnight.
Monday, December 16
Today I woke up late and went for a run, then got dressed
and ready for the day. Nancy’s friend from Santiago came down to visit for the
day and brought her daughter Eva and her two friends Caro and Gianna. They were
the girls I hung out with when we went to that birthday party in the country in
Mellipilla, so it was really fun seeing them and hanging out. I told them all
about my trip to Patagonia, and spent a while showing them pictures and telling
them funny stories. Then I went to help Maxi make homemade juice for lunch. We
put a bunch of raspberries and blueberries in the blender, and then put the mix
in a big bowl. Maxi took this bottle of liquid sweetener (I honestly don’t know
if it exists in the US because I’ve never seen it, but I feel like it must
because it’s so common here) and squeezed it really hard instead of waiting for
it to come out in drops like it’s supposed to. The bottle exploded and ALL the sweetener
fell into the juice and the juice splashed all over our clothes and the kitchen
and it was a hilarious experience. We ended up making like 3 times as much
juice as we should have just to dilute the intense sweetness. We were drinking
that juice for like 4 days after. Anyway, then we all ate lunch together and
talked. After lunch, we were all feeling super tired and lazy, so Monse painted
my nails for me, and then we watched 2 movies and basically just did nothing.
After the second movie, we ate a light dinner together and then they all had to
leave to go back on the bus to Santiago. After they left, I went for another
run because I was feeling guilty after such an incredibly lazy day, and then I
asked Nancy and Monse if they wanted to watch a movie with me. I popped some
microwave popcorn that I had bought and had been saving for a while (it was
their first time ever trying microwave popcorn and they were really impressed)
and then we laid on the couches and watched my favorite movie—It’s Kind of a
Funny Story. The movie is a comedy about a dude who goes to a mental hospital
after thinking about committing suicide, but it’s actually really funny and has
a great message. I was surprised when neither of them laughed at all. I knew
before that the US and Chilean senses of humor were different, but it became blatantly
obvious when they didn’t laugh at any of the awkward sarcasm that is my
favorite kind of humor. I’m not sure they enjoyed my favorite movie too much,
but I sure had fun watching it in Spanish. After the movie I was really tired,
so I headed off to sleep.
Tuesday, December 17, 2013
Sunday, December 15
Today Sally and I woke up around 10 and then went downstairs
to eat breakfast super slowly while chatting with Sally’s mom about the Rotary
meeting the day before. Then we went back upstairs and got dressed and ready,
and then did a little ab workout. Then Sally’s parents called us down and told
us we had lunch reservations at this restaurant that they go to a lot. We all
piled into the car and drove over there. It was absolutely packed and soon I
figured out why—the portions are huge and the food is really good. We spent
like 2 hours sitting there eating and talking, and I realized how much I miss
being an only child. It’s so nice to be able to talk to you parents without
other kids being there, and it’s nice to have a small family and the freedom to
go out to lunch when you want and not have to plan around so many people or
worry about young children. Sally’s parents are so nice, and they really treat
Sally like a daughter. Its super sweet and it actually makes me a little
jealous. Anyway, after we got back, I worked on college essays for a little
while (I’m supposed to be finished this week), and then Sally and I went to
Sally’s friend Dani’s birthday party. It was a little awkward meeting all of
Sally’s friends since I didn’t know anyone, but they were all really nice and I
had a good time talking to them. It was also fun to finally meet all the people
Sally has gossiped to me so much about.
We stayed at the birthday for a long
time (5 hours) just sitting outside and talking, but it was a little
uncomfortable, so Sally called her mom and she picked us up around 9. We went
to Sally’s and ate dinner and then just kind of lay up in her room not even
talking because we were both so exhausted. My parents came to pick me up around
11. I was really happy to see them after like 2 weeks apart and happy to go
back to my house after more than 2 weeks away from it. I unpacked and Skyped
with my mom for a little while to tell her about Patagonia. We all sat down and
ate dinner together at midnight (well they ate and I watched) and I told them
about the Rotary meeting and getting letters from my parents and they told me
about what I missed in Talca and at the wedding my parents went to. After
dinner, my brother showed us this funny video about a Chilean in the US and his
reaction to how small the hot dogs are. We all laughed, but then he got this
super smug look on his face and started bragging about how much better
everything is in Chile and I started to explain to him that it is only a
difference in customs and what people are used to and some people from the US
actually think their hot dogs are better (even though obviously we weren’t
talking about hot dogs anymore), and he got really sassy and mean and so I just
ended up leaving. Later, I went to his room and apologized to him and told him
why his words had hurt me. We ended up getting into this huge discussion about
how he felt that I wasn’t respecting the family because I ask to go out so much
and how I felt that they weren’t respecting me or trying to understand my
culture and meet in the middle instead of expecting me to just change into a
perfect Chilean in 4 months. I was crying a lot and told him how much I wanted
to leave their family with a good impression not only of me but of my country.
He told me he was sorry that he had made me feel unwelcome in the house. We
decided to start over with a clean slate and try to understand each other
better and meet in the middle. I’m really excited because I think that talk was
a major breakthrough. The worst thing about living here was always the awkward
relationship with Maxi, but now I think that’s going to get a lot better.
Saturday, December 14
This morning was an early morning for us because we had to
leave the house by 8 to be up in Santiago at a Rotary meeting at 9:30. Katie
Ward went up with Nigel, and Katie H, Sally, and I rode with Sally’s parents.
We decided that we felt really guilty speaking in English to each other all the
time, so we made a pact to try to speak Spanish together whenever possible. On
the way up to Santiago we stopped at a little café to get some coffee and
chill. When we got up there it was like a huge family reunion. It was so nice
to see all of the exchange students again, even though we had only been apart a
week. The parents and kids split up and went to separate rooms. We listened to
like a 2 hour presentation about the rules of Rotary (a lot of people said the
meeting was called because rotary knows that a lot of the exchange students
have been breaking the rules) and about the necessity of changing families (apparently
we’re supposed to be changing between Christmas and New Years). After the
meeting, we went into a big dining room with the parents and sat down to eat
lunch.
Before lunch, a magician came and performed, and it was literally the
lamest show on the planet. Then, at the end, he made this envelope appear, and
he said “Sally Rohan please come get this” and she went and got it and it
turned out to be a letter from her parents in the US. Soon everyone was being
called up to get letters, and everyone was reading them and crying. I opened mine
and literally just saw my parents and friends’ handwriting and burst into
tears. I don’t even miss you guys that much (no offense hahaha I didn’t say I
didn’t love you) but it was just so unexpected and it made me realize how long
I’ve been gone and holy crap. Then, the counselors started taking down the big
papers that were covering parts of the walls and the walls underneath were
covered with pictures of our families. I found one of my dogs, one of my
parents, and one of my friends holding a poster that said “miss you Alex”.
Needless to say that made me cry all over again. We all sat down to eat lunch
and talk and laugh about how we were all such cry babies. Then, after the
meeting, Katie Ward and I went up to the chairperson of the Santiago club (the
person in charge of everyone else), and complained about our club. Monchito,
our counselor, is completely useless. He owes me lots of money, he never calls
me to check on how I am or even returns my calls when I call him, he didn’t
show up to the meeting like he was supposed to, and when I asked him on Monday
when I was changing host families, he just said he had no idea because he hadn’t
worked on it yet. I also had asked him on Monday if the exchange students in
Rancagua Rotary could become a bigger part of the club, like going to meetings
and activities and stuff (since we’ve only been invited to one meeting in 4
months and I’m feeling pretty abandoned by them), and he told me that my
request would be difficult to complete because Rancagua Rotary doesn’t want
exchange students. My only question is if they didn’t want us in the first
place, why did they accept us at all? I told Monchito to give me the phone
number of the president of the club, and I am going to call him and have a talk
with him because I feel downright insulted and abandoned. Anyway, I told all
this to the chairperson at the meeting, and she was horrified as well and told
me that she would work as hard as she could to fix it. She also confirmed for
Katie and me that we would be switching families. When she told Katie that,
Katie burst out crying, which prompted the chairperson to ask me what was wrong
with my family that Katie was afraid to go there. I honestly would rather have
not talked about it because my family is absolutely wonderful. Yes it hurts me
when they refuse to be understanding of my culture or when they compare me to
Cristobal and find me lacking, but overall they are great and I love them.
Katie however is less patient and willing to work hard to win over the family
(because I really do have to work) and she doesn’t want them to tell her that
she can’t do things because she doesn’t want to miss out on parts of exchange.
I just told them a little about the problems with cultural tolerance, and she
said that Katie would have no choice but to at least try with my family and if
things didn’t work out she would try to find a volunteer family. After a huge
debrief with Katie H and Sally in the car about the whole discussion, we all
ended up sad about the fact that we were changing families so soon. It was kind
of a huge wake-up call that we are really far into our exchange. After Katie H
went to her house, Sally and I went back to Sally’s and changed out of our ugly
blue Rotary polos and into normal clothes, and then took a collectivo and a
micro to the movie theater. Sally was really nervous because neither of us had
done it before, but I am super confident about public transportation. I just
call the first collectivo I see, tell the driver where I want to go, and he’ll
tell me how I need to get there. I know I’ll always find my way. We went to the
grocery store nearby and bought apple sauce to eat during the movie.
We were
seeing Kramer, which is a Chilean movie about a dude who imitates famous
Chilean people. Although we didn’t recognize all the people he was imitating,
we understood the dialogue and the plotline, and so we were both really proud
of ourselves. Then we took a micro part of the way home and walked the rest. When
we got to Sally’s house, we made ourselves dinner, and then went up to her room
and danced to YouTube zumba videos for exercise. Then I showered, we talked for
a while longer, and I went to sleep. I’d like to mention that the entire time I
was with Sally today we spoke in Spanish to each other. It was really cool to
realize that speaking in Spanish doesn’t take anything away from the
conversations we can have, and it’s actually really good practice. We decided
from now on we are going to speak Spanish as much as we can.
Friday, December 13
Katie and I woke up around 3 in the afternoon and went
downstairs and had breakfast/lunch of pasta. Berni, Katie’s sister ate with us
and we told her all about the Patagonia trip and everything. She is really nice
and I would be excited to live in Katie’s house and get to hang out with
someone basically my age. After lunch we went upstairs and basically did
nothing for 3 hours. Katie was still really tired, so she was in a bad mood. We
watched some videos on YouTube (Hola Soy German which is the Spanish version of
Jenna Marbles), and I did some exercises because I was really bored and looking
for ways to entertain myself. Then around 7 Katie’s mom came home and was able
to take us over to Sally’s house. We sat around in Sally’s room for a while and
laughed and played the ukulele and looked at the pictures of the Patagonia trip
that were on Facebook. Then we went down and ate dinner. A while after dinner,
Katie Hagemeier came over and we all chilled up the Sally’s room showing each
other pictures of our friends and lives from the US. We went to bed around 1
because Katie and I were still super tired and we all had to get up early the
next morning.Thursday, December 12
Today I woke up around 10, showered, packed up all my stuff
to leave Talca, ate a quick breakfast with the family, and then my grandma,
Laurie, and Monse took a micro with me to the bus station. I bought a bus
ticket with their help (even though I didn’t really need it, it was nice to be
completely sure I was doing things right since this was my first time taking
the bus alone and taking the bus from Talca to Rancagua). We loaded my suitcase
onto the bus and I thanked my grandma for everything and said goodbye. I got on
the bus and made a few calls to schedule plans with my friends until I realized
that I was the only one talking loudly in English on the bus and that I should
probably stop. Then a little while later, one of the attendants on the bus came
over and started talking to me. He was a very socially awkward person, but I
kind of like talking to that kind of people because I get to practice my Spanish
more and take more chances because I don’t feel embarrassed if I make mistakes.
He literally didn’t leave me alone the whole two hour bus ride, and then when I
got off in Rancagua he gave me his number. That was not the end of the awkward
flirting for the day though because the bus dropped me off along the highway
outside Rancagua and my mom couldn’t come pick me up, so I had to walk to the
house dragging my suitcase and wearing my short shorts. It was literally
comical how many honks I got along the highway, and I was just cracking up
laughing the whole way home. When I got back to my house I was surprised to
find my mom there because I thought she would be in Santiago with Eric. She let
me in and I unpacked my suitcase and then repacked it with the clothes I would
need for the next 3 days. Then Katie Ward came over and we went in collectivo
over to the Techo Para Chile office in the middle of town so that I could pay
for the community service trip I am going on in January. Then we went to the Jumbo
to buy supplies to bake cookies, and back to my house to get my suitcase. We went back to the Jumbo and ate ice cream at this super yummy and fancy ice cream shop.
Then
we caught a micro over to Katie’s house (super awkward carrying a suitcase in a
micro) and chilled in her house for a little while. I took a shower, did my
hair, and got ready for the party we were going to that night. Then we went
downstairs and talked to her mom for a while. I really like her mom and her
whole family, but it’s always a little weird with them because I will probably
be moving into their house sometime during my exchange. After a while, her mom
took us over to our friend and Katie’s cousin Mery’s house. With Mery, we baked
sugar cookies topped with manjar and we told her all about our trip to
Patagonia.
Then we changed clothes and Mery’s brother drove us over to the
school. From the school, we were all (most of the people from Katie’s class,
and a few from B and A (A is mine)) planning on taking the bus to the party
because it was in Donihuae, which is about 40 minutes away and in the
countryside. We packed about 20 people into this tiny white van, and traveled
the 40 minute singing and screaming in Spanish and it was downright insane. We
actually stopped at a supermarket along the way so my underage friends could
buy alcohol. Then we finally got to the party, and to get the drinking started
everyone played never have I ever. Then we got bored of that, and Katie and I
sat with a few girls who absolutely love speaking English (and even more when
they’re drunk), and played a game where every time they spoke in Spanish or we
spoke in English they had to take a drink. The night was really fun—we danced a
lot, I talked to a lot of people from my school that I’d never talked to
before, and watching the drunken people stumble around (and fall in the nearby
pool) was really hilarious. I met some of Katie’s friends from another school,
and we had this huge joke that one of them wanted to marry me. He even got down
on one knee and gave me a ring made out of a bent stick. They kept yelling at
me to kiss him, but I don’t even want to think about the awkwardness that would
follow me around forever if I kissed someone in front of my classmates.
Speaking of awkwardness, Juandi, that dude whom I went to the movies with like
3 months ago, was at the party. After we went to the movies, people bugged us
so much that we kind of stopped talking to each other and he was actually sort
of mean to me. Then a few days before the party he sent me a message saying he
was sorry and he wanted to be friends again before he leaves for his 3 month
exchange in the US. He was the one who invited me to this party. Anyway, he was
super drunk, and came up to me (with backup from his friends in his class) and
asked me (in English because drunk people basically only talk to me in English)
to give him a kiss. It was so awkward because I thought we were already passed
all this. I laughed and played it off like he was joking. Anyway, the party was
fun until about 5 am, but when the bus didn’t come until 7, I was definitely
ready to go home and sleep a while.
We all got back on the bus at 7 and
basically all slept on top of each other the whole 40 minute ride back to
school. Then Katie and I had to walk over to catch a micro that would take us
to her house.
We got home around 8, explained to her mom why were home so late,
and then went up to her room and crashed.
Wednesday, December 11
Today I woke up really late after being so tired the day
before, and it was way too hot outside to run, so I just got dressed and ate a
late breakfast with the family before sitting outside and reading my book for
about 2 hours. By the time I realized I was getting sunburned it was too late.
Both my arms are absolutely bright red. The hole in the atmosphere is in the
southern hemisphere, so I guess the sun is a whole lot stronger here than back
home. Anyway I was bright red and peeling for the next week. I went back inside
when they called me for lunch, and we ate all together. Then, Monse and Laurie
asked me to help them fill up water balloons. I didn’t think it was going to
work out, but filling up a few water balloons turned into this huge water war
that lasted about 3 hours. Joaquin and Maxi joined in and we all put on our
bathing suits and used water balloons, the hose, and kitchen pots filled with
water to absolutely drench each other in the tiny front yard of my grandparents’
house. It was super awkward because Maxi’s friends from Talca whom I met months
ago and hadn’t seen since passed by the house and I had to greet them with
kisses on the cheek while I was in nothing but my bathing suit. Anyway, after
we got tired, I changed into running clothes and went for a run. Then Maxi made
pizza for dinner and we all ate together. Later, I helped my grandma make a
Kuchen de Manzana. She made it one time when she was at our house in Rancagua
and I absolutely fell in love with the thing, so she wanted to teach me the
recipe. While it was cooking, we all walked over to the plaza nearby and played
on the equipment for a little while. Then we went back and I was so tired that
I couldn’t even stay awake for the nightly game of hide and go seek. I think I’m
so tired lately because I didn’t sleep at all in Patagonia and now I’m
recovering.
Tuesday, December 10
Today I woke up late again, but I was still really tired all
day like I never actually woke up. I put on my makeup and got ready to go to
the center of town like they had said we would, but then while we were eating
breakfast they told me we wouldn’t actually be going for a while longer, so I
changed clothes again and went for a run although it was really hot outside.
Then I showered and redid my makeup. Then after lunch, Monse, Laurie, Vicente,
and I went back to that little park nearby and played some stupid games that
didn’t involve running because my hip was absolutely killing me and I have no
idea why. After a few hours we got tired of the hot sun and decided to go back
to the house to rest. As soon as we walked through the door, our grandpa told
us to get ready to walk into the center of town. We were already pretty tired
and it was like boiling hot outside, but we got ready and walked the 15 minutes
through neighborhoods to get to the town center (our grandparents don’t own a
car, so they get everywhere either by walking or by public transportation). We
walked around for a while and it was fun to see all the people and all the
shops on either side of the main street, but everyone was really too hot to
have a very good time, so after a while, we turned into a little ice cream
store and had big cones of ice cream to relax and escape the heat.
After we
finished, we walked home while Maxi and I listened to the O’Higgins vs.
Catolica (they are regional soccer teams in Chile who were competing in the
championship) game over the radio. O’Higgins, the team from Rancagua, ended up
winning the whole championship, and my Facebook feed was absolutely blown up
with celebratory statuses. When we got home everyone was exhausted from the
heat, so we all went off to do solitary activities and rest. I read my book
(Allegiant—the third book in a series called Divergent that I was absolutely
obsessed with and had completely forgotten about since coming to Chile) for a
long time before we all ate a light dinner. Us kids waited until the
grandparents had gone to sleep, and then we played a super intense game of hide
and go seek in the dark house. It was really fun and we probably spent like an
hour playing before we got tired. Maxi and I stayed up a little longer to watch
the final presidential debate (there was a first election with 9 different
candidates, and now there is a second election with only the two candidate who
received the highest number of votes—Michelle Bachelet from the left and Evelyn
Matthei from the right).
Monday, December 9
Today we woke up late again. Nancy and Eric left for
Rancagua, and Maxi, Monse, me, and our cousins Joaquin, Laurie, and Vicente
stayed with our grandparents. I went for a run for the first time in way too
long, and then showered and got ready. We ate breakfast around 12 and then
Laurie, Monse, and I went outside to jump rope for a while.
I was pleasantly
surprised that I remembered all my tricks for elementary school, and we spent
about 2 hours outside while I taught them all the cool things I knew. Then we
were called in for lunch, and after lunch Monse, Laurie, Vicente, and our
grandpa walked over to a little park nearby. We played dodge ball, hide and
seek, and hunted for rollie pollies.
Then when we walked home, there was
company in the house—our cousin Pedro was playing video games with Maxi and
Joaquin in the living room. I was tired from playing with little kids for so
long, so I sat with them for a while and caught up on all the blog entries that
I had missed during the Rotary trip. Then Monse, Laurie, Vicente and I went
outside to jump rope for a while longer and play hide and seek in the dark. By
then it was actually pretty late, so we ate dinner and I read my book for a
little while before going to sleep.
Sunday, December 8
We all woke up super late this morning and ate breakfast
together. It was a pretty lazy day—we ate a late lunch and basically just
played games with the kids until the late afternoon. Then we all piled into the
car and went to this fair next to the big river in Talca.
We walked around for
a while, ate churros, and toured the aisles of different vendors. We tried a
bunch of really weird foods, and laughed a lot.
Then, on the way home, we
stopped at this hot dog restaurant called Donde Alex, which is apparently like
the most famous restaurant in all of Talca. They all freaked out that I had the
same name, and we took a bunch of pictures of me with the sign.
Then we got hot
dogs (a chicken one for me) and honestly they were really good. Then we went
home and all watched Despicable Me 2 together before going to sleep.
Saturday, December 7
Today I woke up around 10 and took a shower, and then spent
a super long time unpacking all my suitcases and organizing my new souvenirs
and things. As I was finishing up, Eric came home and informed me that we were
leaving in half an hour to go stay in Talca for a week with my grandparents and
that I should pack my bag. I had
literally been home for less than 12 hours, and I was not too happy with the
last minute notice or the possibility of not being able to see my friends for
another week. I was pretty angry, but I packed up and we got in the car (our
family plus my 3 cousins Vicente (13), Joaquin (9), and Laura (8)) and drove
the two hours to our grandparent’s house in Talca. When we arrived, there were
already about 20 people in the house getting ready to go to the baptism of one
of our cousins, Augustin (1). We ate a quick lunch and then changed into formal
clothes and got ready to leave. We all piled on this big bus that they had
rented to go to the church. We ended up arriving like 20 minutes late, so when
we walked in the baptism was almost over. This was the first Catholic baptism I
had ever seen, but I don’t think it really counts because I only saw the last 5
minutes of it. After it finished, we went outside and I greeted a bunch of
people that I hadn’t seen since we went to the country for the week of September
18.
It was nice finally meeting family members for the second time instead of
always having to be introduced and meeting only new people all the time. Now at
least they were somewhat familiar. We went in the bus over to a big house
nearby that they had rented out as a party room. We sat at big tables and ate a
long dinner.
I sat with Maxi, Pedro, and Javi (cousins). Then after dinner, we
went and talked to the other young people whom I had met in the country—Nacho,
Miguel Esteban, George, Matias, Octavio, Marinka. Later, I was super tired and
Javi and I were feeling antisocial, so we went upstairs and talked for a while.
I really like her and I feel like she and I think the same way and have had a
lot of the same experiences in our lives (she told me about how she used to be
bullied). I would feel comfortable telling her anything and I would trust her
advice no matter what. After a while, Nacho and Octavio came upstairs to tell
us to stop being lame and come dance.
We went downstairs and danced with them
for a while, and then we went over to the bar with all the other young people
and talked for a while. They are always so nice to me and seem genuinely
interested in getting to know me (and it’s sad but true that the drunker they
get the more they talk to me). After a while Nacho and I went back and danced
some more, and then around 4:30, Eric came to find me and tell me that we were
leaving. I went around and said goodbye to everyone, and I genuinely hope that
I’ll get to hang out with all the cousins again this summer in the country. We
rode back to our grandparents house in the trunk of the car because there
wasn’t enough space for everyone, and then as soon as we got home I got into
bed (the bed I was sharing with Monse and Laura) and went right to sleep.
Sunday, December 15, 2013
Friday, December 6
Today we were allowed to wake up a little later, and we had
to be down eating breakfast by 8. Around 8:30, we walked to a nearby
supermarket and each of us had to buy a present for the people at the old folks
home that we were going to visit. Then we went back to the hotel and changed
into our blue rotary polo shirts and went to the home. We were supposed to make
conversation with the old people, but there were only a few brave enough (and
who spoke enough Spanish) to actually talk to them. I found a guy and sat down
to talk to him, and a few of my German friends came and stood by me and
listened to our conversation without really adding much except speaking German
when I asked them to show him what it sounded like. He was really a pretty
weird guy—he mumbled instead of speaking, which made it almost impossible for
me to understand him, and although I was speaking clearly and loudly with as
good of an accent as I could manage, he didn’t really seem to understand much
of what I was saying either (I asked him what his favorite Christmas carol was
and he responded with “September 18”). We left after about an hour, and went
back to the hotel to load up our suitcases. We had about 45 minutes of free
time before lunch, so Katie Hagemeier and I ran around the town looking for a
post office to mail our Patagonia postcards and get them postmarked from there.
We were pretty proud of ourselves when we found it and got them mailed. We went
to that same restaurant that we had been to the night before and ate our last
lunch together. Then we got on the bus and began the 3 hour drive back to Punta
Arenas and the airport. During the bus ride, each person had to get up and
speak in the microphone a little about the trip (in Spanish). It was super
sweet hearing everybody say how much fun they’d had and how we were now a
family of exchange students and we’d never break apart. I realized how much I
really love all these kids and how happy I am to be sharing this experience
with them. It was also shocking to hear them speak in Spanish. We spoke English
together all the time, and for many of them it was the first time I’d heard
them speak. I was really surprised. None of them spoke very much at all and
some of them spoke literally almost zero. I don’t want this to sound bad but it
made me really happy with how my Spanish is coming along.
Anyway, we got to the
airport and checked bags, ate the sack dinners they had provided us with, went
through security, and got on the plane. During the first plane ride—2 hours to
Puerto Montt—I talked to my friends sitting near me and then we got up and
talked with everyone else. I felt bad for the other people on the plane who had
to deal with a rowdy group of foreign teenagers. Then on the second plane—1.5
hours to Santiago—I was incredibly tired so I just slept. We got off the plane
at around 1 am, and then we got our suitcases, hugged and said goodbye to all
our friends, and the Rancagua kids got back on the bus that would take us to
the terminal in Rancagua. Katie, Sally, and I all huddled up together and slept
on the bus. When we got back to the terminal and I saw Nancy waiting I was
actually really happy to be back with my family. I hadn’t realized how much I
had missed them. Maxi was also in the car. We drove home and I was pleasantly
surprised to find the house all decorated for Christmas. Although it was 3 am
and I was super tired, we sat around the kitchen table for a little while and I
told them about the trip. It was also really nice to be able to speak Spanish again
after a week of almost nothing but English. Around 4, I couldn’t take it
anymore, so I decided to call it a night.
Thursday, December 5
Today we woke up early and had breakfast in the hotel before
getting on the bus. We were all waiting on the bus but we couldn’t leave until
everyone was on it and there were 3 people missing. They were the same Germans
that had been late the last time. The counselors went up to one of the dude’s
rooms and knocked and yelled and finally busted in with the master key, but he
wasn’t there. Turns out he had slept in the other two’s room because they had
been up late drinking and smoking. When the counselors opened up the room they
were literally still sleeping and the counselors gave them less than a minute
to put on warm clothes and get to the bus. Once they were on the bus the
counselors made an announcement that those three would not be allowed on any
other rotary trips. I guess they were really serious about making it clear that
we had to respect the rules. When we got to the pier, we got on another boat. This
one was super nice with tables and booth seats and everything. While we drove
the 3 hours out to Parque Nacional Bernardo O’Higgins, Katie Ward and I taught
some friends how to play the card game Mao. It passed the time super fast. Then
we got off the boat and went on a hike around a lake that was formed by a
glacier and up to the actual glacier.
We took a ton of pictures, and then hiked
back to the boat. While on the hike, this guy went down to the water and picked
out a piece of ice and we all took turns licking it and getting excited about
the taste of authentic glacier ice. Then when we got back on the boat they
served us juice (the tradition is to serve whiskey but we’re under age so
juice) with glacier ice.
It was way colder than normal ice would have made it,
and the glacier ice refused to melt for a really long time. It was really cool.
Then the boat docked on another little island where we all got off to eat
lunch. We ate cordero (sheep) which is a typical delicacy in the south. I was
brave enough to try a piece even though I’m a vegetarian, and that is more than
can be said about a lot of my friends. They were total chickens and didn’t even
try the typical food of the south while they were in the south! After lunch we
went outside and took some group pictures, and then rode the boat back to the
main dock again.
We got back to the hotel and most people went to take naps,
but a few of us went out souvenir shopping. I bought t-shirts for me and my
parents at home, souvenirs for everybody in my family here, and postcards with
pictures of all the places we’d gone. Then we went back to the hotel and went
to dinner at the same restaurant we had gone to before. This was our last
night, so the counselors had put together this super cute PowerPoint of picture
from the trip and gave a great speech. I really liked this one line that they
said—“if everyone in the world had the chance to be an exchange student, there
would be no more wars because now that you all have real life personal
connections in all these countries, you will never want to drop bombs on them
for fear of killing your friends.” That is totally true. Meeting people from
all these countries and seeing how similar they are and how amazing they are
has really opened my eyes to the rest of the world. After dinner, we were all
going to go to a nightclub (rotary approved) to dance, but the nightclub said
we couldn’t come in because we were under aged, so we ended up going back to
the same restaurant where we always eat, pushing the tables to the side,
plugging my iPod into the speakers, and dancing there. It was super obvious who
had gotten drunk in the hotel before coming to the restaurant, and a surprising
number of people had. They walked around unsteadily and danced way too sexually
and two people even made out even though the counselors were all standing right
there watching. I had a lot of fun dancing and watching the drunken people make
fools of themselves. A couple of Germans did this amazingly fun looking
spinning dance called Disco Fox or something in German that sounds like that and
then I begged them to teach me. It was a lot harder than they made it look but
I had fun trying. Around 2 we had to leave, so we went back to the hotel and
sat in the hallway talking for about two seconds until the counselors came up
and screamed at us for being awake and made us go to our rooms immediately. They
obviously knew a lot of us had been drinking and I’m sure they were pretty
pissed, but they never actually punished anyone for it.
Saturday, December 14, 2013
Wednesday, December 4
Today we woke up early and ate a big breakfast in the hotel.
Then we took the bus over to this forest. We walked through the forest to a
beach and we all got on a big boat.
We traveled on the boat for about an hour
while I plugged my iPod into the speakers and we jammed out to super old music
from our childhood like the Spice Girls and Backstreet Boys. It was pretty cool
to learn that the German and French kids watched the same kids TV shows and
listened to the same music when they were little. I felt really connected with
them when we were singing those old songs. After about an hour we all braved
the freezing cold and wind to go outside and look around.
We were at Glacier
Grey, a famous glacier. It was this amazing blue color that I can’t describe,
and it was absolutely massive. We went around it a few times and took about a
million pictures. Then on the way back, we were all hanging out on the top deck
and people from each different country sang their national anthem and we had a
competition to see who could sing theirs more loudly and proudly. The Germans
won by a lot.
When we got back we hiked back through the forest and got back to
the bus to go to a restaurant nearby for a pretty lunch surrounded by
snowcapped mountains. Then we left the park and got back on the bus to return
to Punto Natales. When we got back we left our stuff in the same hotel we were
in before and then went to walk around the town some more. We stopped in this
adorable little chocolate café and I drank a coffee and bought a chocolate bar
for Nancy’s birthday (which was today). We went back to the hotel and some of
us changed into shorts and sports bras (or boxers for the guys) and went down
to the beach outside the hotel. We were all shivering in the cold and wind but
we wanted to go swimming in the almost Antarctic waters just to say we had done
it. We all met at the beach, left our towels on the shore, and ran together
screaming into the water. We all dunked our heads before running back out. We
did this three times until our whole bodies were red from the cold and there
was a crowd of random people watching us. Then we went back to the hotel and
Katie and I left our clothes on and jumped together into the arm shower just to
stop shivering! Then after we showered and got dressed, the whole group walked
to a local place to get dinner. When they served us dinner I was disappointed
because it was steak and French fries. I asked them if there was another option
for vegetarians, and after looking very put out, they agreed to make me
spaghetti. I waited a long time and they finally brought out this spaghetti.
After one bite I almost had to spit it out because it was so salty. I decided I
would just eat cereal in the hotel later, but then the counselor walked by and
asked me why I wasn’t eating after I’d caused such a stink about wanting
something else (which I hadn’t I had only asked nicely). I told her it was
salty and she looked angry with my pickiness until I told her to try it. She
took one bite and apologized to me immediately and sent it back to the kitchen.
Finally, after everyone else had already been done eating for a while, they
brought me a salad and I ate gratefully. Then, a few of the exchange students
got up on the stage (it was like a little mom and pop restaurant and we were
the only ones there) and started dancing. One of them came over to my table and
tried to get me to come up and dance. I said no and when he tried to drag me I
held onto my chair. Then he and another guy literally picked up me and my chair
and carried me to the stage and made me dance.
We danced the cha-cha slide, and
cotton eyed Joe, and the Macarena in front of everyone. Then we went back to
the hotel and got out our flags (I bought a Patagonia flag) and trading pins
and everyone went around and traded pins for their blazers and signed people’s
flags. We were down in the lobby till 1 singing and having a good time. I had
so many great memories with these people that I could probably write each one a
novel on their flag which is crazy considering how short of a time I’ve known
them!
Tuesday, December 3
Today we had to wake up at 6:30 and eat breakfast and be
packed and ready to leave by 7:30. We drove to Cueva del Milodon, which is a
giant cave where they discovered the remains of a giant sloth.
It was pretty
cool to walk around there. Then we got back on the bus and drove to this little
tiny town to stop at the bathroom. It was super windy and there was a big field
nearby, so we all got our flags out and started taking pictures with them.
Running around in the strong wind was the coolest feeling ever. We climbed over
this little meter high gate to get more into the flied and take better pictures.
After a while the counselors came and got us and told us to get back on the
bus. Then they told us that that little gate we had so carelessly climbed over
was the border between Chile and Argentina and that we had just entered
Argentina illegally!
We continued driving until we entered Parque Nacional
Torres del Paine. Then we went around and the bus stopped in front of different
beautiful and breathtaking locations and we got out to take 981623487231985
pictures at each one.
Then we went to eat lunch on this little island
surrounded by a beautiful deep turquoise colored lake and snowcapped mountains
(and los Torres del Paine).
After lunch we got back on the bus, but a few of the
German kids were missing. They showed up after about 20 minutes of waiting, but
the counselors were incredibly pissed. They told us that as a punishment none
of us would be able to leave the hotel that night. Immediately, the German kids
in the back of the bus and the English speaking kids in the front formed two
separate groups. The English kids were pissed at the Germans for getting them
all punished, and the Germans just thought the punishment was stupid and unfair
and were mad at the English kids for blaming it all on them. I spent half the
time with the English kids and then I started feeling really weird about this
whole divided thing and so I went over to the German kids to talk to them and
let them know that I wasn’t choosing sides. There had always been a little
tension because all the English speaking kids felt like the Germans had this
clique where they got together and spoke German and excluded those who couldn’t
speak it (which by the way has showed my exactly how people feel when Katie and
I speak English together and I have learned not to do that anymore because it’s
really not a good feeling). Now that tension boiled over and I was a little
worried World War III was about to start (sorry that was an inappropriate joke
but I had to). I think the counselors saw it too, and so when we got to the
hotel they said that we wouldn’t be rooming with our normal roommates, and they
would assign us partners. I was assigned with Cassidy, a girl from Idaho whom I
get along with really well, so I was happy. We dumped our stuff in the room and
then went back to the lobby. The counselors called us all together and said
they had an announcement. They made the 3 German boys who had been late come up
and apologize in front of everyone and then they said that we would be allowed
to go out with the supervision of the counselors. It wasn’t like there was a
whole lot to see since we were staying inside the national park, but some of us
went out and watched the boys strip down to their boxers and go swimming in the
freezing cold lake water. Then about 10 of us decided to go up into the
mountains for a hike. It was raining and freezing cold and muddy, but it was a
great bonding experience with them and an even greater view at the top of the
hill.
We went back to the hotel and changed into dry clothes for dinner where I
had a great conversation about American politics with a boy from Illinois and a
girl from Alaska. After dinner, all the exchange students sat in a big circle
on couches and on the floor in the lobby and played a big game of never have I
ever. It was the funniest and craziest thing I’ve ever seen, and everyone was
shockingly honest and graphic about their stories. (The nerdiest girl there
shared the story of how she lost her virginity on a golf cart) We were all very
shocked and we didn’t stop laughing until 1 in the morning. I would say this
was the turning point in the trip where everyone changed from being
acquaintances to being actual close friends who could laugh and joke about any
subject. Cassidy and I sat in our room and had a long conversation about how
pissed we were that we were gaining weight on exchange (and I really am I’ve
probably gained like 5 pounds although I don’t have a scale to be sure) before
going to sleep.
Monday, December 2
Sunday, December 1
We got off the plane in Punta Arenas at 5 in the morning
without having slept at all. When I turned on my phone after landing, I
received a nasty message from my host mom saying that she felt as if I was
“treating their family like they were nothing but a hotel to me”. I was really
angry and super confused and sad because I make such a huge effort to be a part
of their family and it’s me who feels like they don’t want me. I just tried to
put it out of my head and enjoy the trip and figured that I would talk to them
when I got home. Anyway, we got our luggage together and stepped out of the
airport and experienced our first taste of Patagonia summer.
It is freezing
cold with a wind so powerful it whips your hair around so you can’t see
anything, steals your hat, and almost knocks you off your feet. We got into
this big tour bus and drove for like 15 minutes before we stopped by the side
of this road where there was only a tiny dock and two boats in sight. Our
counselors asked us if we were hungry, which we were, and they passed out our
“breakfast” of one tiny packet of cookies for each person. People were pretty
pissed off because we had paid a lot for the trip and we didn’t want all the
meals to be like that. After eating, we all wanted to change into warmer clothes
before going on the boats, so we took the suitcases out from under the bus and
changed clothes right there on the side of the highway. Then we got on the
little zodiac boats (I got in the littler one with 9 other people) and began
the 45 minute ride to Isla Magdalena, which is a wildlife preserve for
penguins.
The Strait of Magellan was super strong and rough, so the boat was
rocking back and forth a ton, but I had a great time. We walked around the
island and took pictures with the penguins for about an hour, and then we got
back on the boat and went to Isla Marta, which is a preserve for sea lions. We
didn’t get off the boat there, we just navigated around it. Then we started the
ride back, but by that time I really had to go to the bathroom. I ended up
having to endure an hour ride back in a tiny boat bouncing up and down over
huge waves. I almost died but I finally made it back to shore and to the
bathroom on the other boat.
After that we got back on the bus and drove to the
hotel. We chose roommates (I was with Katie Ward), and then we had some free
time before lunch to explore the city. We went down to the little vendors that
were outside the hotel and we stumbled upon a military parade walking past the
town hall that they hold every Sunday apparently. While we were looking in the
little stalls, this man came up and started talking to us. He was a little
creepy, but a few people stayed and talked to him. While I was buying this
amazingly soft lama sweater from a vendor, he warned me to tell my friends to
stop talking to the guy because he was a known sexual predator. I was pretty
freaked out and quickly got my friends away from him. Then we went back to the
hotel and met up with the group to walk down to a nearby Chinese restaurant for
lunch. We spent about 3 hours waiting for the food and then eating. Then we
went back to the hotel and formed groups of 10 to go walk around the city. I
ended up with a bunch of German people that I didn’t really know but that were
super nice. We walked to find a grocery store and buy cereal, and then we
walked down to the beach to relax. We laughed a lot and I tried out my
multitude of German phrases (I know about 2…) on them.
Then we went back to the
hotel and the counselors told us we could chill in our rooms until dinner time.
It was like 6, and Katie H, Sally, and I decided we wanted to take a quick nap,
so I went up to their room and we went to sleep. I set an alarm for 6:30 but we
didn’t end up waking up until 8! I hate naps because they always make me more
tired than I was before, but at least we didn’t sleep through dinner. We went
down to the lobby bad I sat down for dinner at a table with the French guys.
It’s really weird because the Germans and everyone for English speaking
countries (USA, Canada, New Zealand, and Australia) speak English together, but
with the French we have to speak Spanish. I was kind of OK with it though
because I felt guilty for speaking so much English and also they’re super
hilarious to be around. After dinner, a group of us went back out to walk
around the city by night, and we dipped our hands in the freezing cold water in
the Strait of Magellan. Then we went back to the hotel and I brought Sally the cake and candles that I had packed in my suitcase to celebrate her birthday.
She was really surprised and adorable and I'm glad she got to spend her birthday among the penguins in Patagonia. Then I called Nancy
because I was still really freaked out by that message she sent me. I talked to
her and told her how hard I was trying and that for her to flat out say to me
that I was treating the family like a
hotel was rude and uncalled for and honestly I was kind of pissed. She
apologized and said that we both probably needed to try harder, so I agreed and
I guess the problem is more or less solved for now. After we hung up I called Maxi and apologized to him for not
making that big of an effort to be friends with him (we really don’t get along
very well) and told him that although there is no way I can be how Cristobal
was for him, I would try harder. He also apologized for being mean and snappy
with me and said he would try too. I went to sleep feeling a little better
about my whole family debacle.
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