Saturday, November 30

Today I woke up around 11 to the harsh reality that a few of my college apps are due December 1 and I’m still not done. I ate breakfast quickly with Monse, and then went to my room and worked for like 4 hours straight on the common app. Then I ate lunch with Maxi, Monse, and Nancy, and we talked for a while before I went to my room and started packing for the trip I’m leaving on tonight. After a while, Monse, Nancy, and I went in bicycle to the hair salon because I desperately needed a haircut and Eric had the car. We had to wait like an hour before it was our turn, and then they washed my hair, cut it, and straightened it. I was really happy to finally have healthy hair again. After that  I was feeling kind of pressured to pack my stuff and finished university applications, so I rode my bike home alone instead of waiting for the rest of them. I worked hard for a while, and then Nancy called me and told me they were on their way to the Jumbo and that I should meet them there. I rode my bike over and waited for them outside the bike check. Then we went in and I bought some last minute necessities for the trip. We got home late and I finished packing quickly. Then Maxi and I made Oreo bonbons for our aunt Alicia who is sick with cancer and whom the rest of the family was going to visit on Sunday. While we were making them, Nigel (an exchange student from Germany) and Katie Ward came over. We chilled and talked for a little while, and then loaded up our suitcases and drove to the bus stop. We met up with the rest of the exchange students from Rancagua who were going on the trip—Pierre, Julius, Katie Hagemeier, Sally, and us three—and then we got in the private bus that our parents had hired to take us to the airport in Santiago. We talked all throughout the trip because we were so excited to meet up with all the exchange students that we hadn’t seen for like 2 months. We got to the airport around 11:30 at night and met up with all the other exchange students. It was so crazy because we had only met once before but we all greeted each other like best friends. It was pretty cool to be around a bunch of other people who spoke English. The excitement was palpable. We all chilled in the airport while the 3 Rotarian counselors passed out our tickets and got us through security, and then we took the first picture all together with our flags and got on the plane. I sat with Katie Ward and Alexis. They are both pretty different from me (really into boys and partying) but I still had a great time with them and I don’t think we stopped laughing the entire trip. I’ll stop this entry now although we didn’t sleep at all during the whole 3 hour flight to Punta Arenas.