Sunday, May 25

Today Katie and I woke up late, ate breakfast, and then went outside to wait for a micro to take Katie home. Saying goodbye to her was a little sad today because she is going home in a little less than 3 weeks (on June 14), and even though we know we will make the 6 hour drive to visit each other in the US, it will never be the same as living in the same city in Chile. Katie has been one of the most important parts of my whole exchange, she’s my best friend in the whole world, and I’m going to miss her so much. Anyway, after she left, I went upstairs to work on my blog for a while. Then my parents called me down and told me we were going out to Gatsby, a buffet in the mall in the center of town, for lunch.

We ate a lot of yummy food, then walked around the center of Rancagua for a while and took some of the family pictures that I had been wanting to take for so long.

Then we drove over to the nearby town of Rengo to look at some stone fountains and wooden furniture that they want to buy for the house.

Normally, today would have been incredibly boring, but it was fun because it was one of the first full days I’ve spent just hanging out with my family, and I’ve learned to make every single day I have like that count because I really don’t have many left. We got home around 6, and I went upstairs to continue working on my blog. We ate dinner around 8, and we were all feeling really lazy and tired, so the whole house went to bed around 9:30. It was a perfectly nice day with my new Chilean family.

Saturday, May 24

Today Katie and I woke up at 8 and we were on the road with my parents to Santiago by 8:30. We arrived a little before 10 at La Moneda, which is the White House of Chile.

Manuel used to be a Colonel in the police force, and he actually used to work in La Moneda, so he has special privileges. They let us into the Moneda to take a private tour with one of the policemen who was there guarding it. We got to see where Michelle Bachelet holds her press conferences, where she works, and the main courtyard where all the important events are held.

Katie and I were impressed with the lack of security (we didn’t even have to go through a metal detector to get in, and there are very few guards around and they are only carrying radios with them), but then again, terrorism does not exist in Chile, so there is really no need for any more security. After the tour, we stopped for a quick coffee, and then went back to the plaza of la Moneda to watch the changing of the guard.

It wasn’t exactly like Arlington National Cemetery because there was a band marching in and some people mounted on horseback, but it was still a pretty cool ceremony to watch. After it ended, we went around to the other side of la Moneda to take some typical touristy pictures, and then got back in the car to drive over to Patronato.

Patronato is this big street filled with hole in the wall shops and lots of street vendors selling cheap clothes. Clothes are so expensive here in Chile that everyone always goes to Patronato to buy expensive things like jeans and jackets. I really just wanted to look around since I didn’t need to buy anything, but it was still fun just window shopping and looking through all the clothes in all the stores with Lilian (who absolutely loves shopping) and Katie (even Manuel got excited about some men’s clothes he found).

I ended up buying a few cheap pairs of hippie pants to bring back to the US and shamelessly wear even though they are totally not fashionable at all there. We stopped at this little hole in the wall restaurant to eat the best schwarmas of my life (it’s Turkish food apparently).

After Patronato, my parents drove Katie and me over to Estadio Nacional while we put on all our layers of warm clothes in the car. We got out, said goodbye and thanks for the fantastic day to my parents, and went to wait in the growing line around the side of the stadium of people waiting to get into the Fall Out Boy concert.

We looked at the super punk looking Chileans around us and decided we were probably a little out of our league, but we still had fun laughing at ourselves and making jokes about the people in English with the confidence that they wouldn’t understand us. We met up with our classmate Anto and her cousin Fefe a little later, and pretty soon we were allowed into the stadium.

There were no assigned seats, just seats around the outside and a big open area in front of the stage. Obviously, we ran down to the open area to be closer to the band. The problem, however, was that everyone else had the same idea, and pretty soon we were so squished in that I couldn’t even fully expand my ribcage to get in a good breath. The warm up band, some Chilean bad I’d never heard of, came on around 8, and I could forget a little bit about being so packed in with about 500 other Chileans in about 30 square feet of space. They left around 8:40, and that left us with 20 minutes of nothing to do before Fall Out Boy came on.

That’s when the pushing started. One side of the mob would push the other, and I would almost be knocked off my feet every time, except there was no way I could actually fall because the bodies around me were too close to me. It was literally freezing outside, but with all the body heat around us, everyone started sweating a lot, and I wanted to take off my jacket and scarf but I literally couldn’t move my arms enough to take the jacket off. We decided to wait until Fall Out Boy came out, listen to a couple songs, and move to a place farther back where we could actually enjoy the concert. When they came out, the energy was exhilarating. Everyone was jumping up and down, and the crowd moved me too, so I had no choice but to follow suit. The band played The Phoenix, and we got some cool up close pictures of them, and then Anto, Katie, and I moved farther back where we still had an excellent view, but could also move around and dance and most importantly breathe.

I sang along at the top of my lungs to all the songs, we had a great time dancing and laughing and talking about how hot Pete Wentz is. It was really weird being at a concert in a Spanish speaking country though because all of the Chileans knew more of the song lyrics than we did, but when the band would make little jokes and comments in between songs, not many people understood or laughed. We kind of felt like it was our own private concert since we were some of the only people who understood everything Pete was saying.

The concert ended around 11, and we went outside the stadium to wait for Anto’s dad. He picked us up, and as we dropped Fefe off at her apartment in Santiago, she invited us up for dinner, so we ate a quick dinner with her, and then drove the hour back to Rancagua. It had been an exhausting day, and Katie and I slept in the car. When we got back to my house we didn’t even talk to each other, we just fell right into bed.

Friday, May 23

Today was a happy day because it was Friday. We stayed late again today practicing barras, and I arrived home at like 5. My parents were taking Katie and me to Santiago early tomorrow morning, so we met up in the center to hang out for a little while and buy hair dye, and then we came back to my house. We first bleached, and then dyed strands of our hair pink. While we waited with the dye in our hair we watched all of Fall Out Boy’s new music videos (they go in series to make one big movie type thing), since we were going to their concert tomorrow night. While trying to wash the dye our of our hair in the bathtub with my removable showerhead, we had a few mishaps, and after a lot of screaming and scrambling to grab the showerhead, the bathroom and ceiling ended up completely soaking wet. Just as we finished with that little adventure, my parents called us downstairs to eat once. We went down and talked to them for a while, and then came back up and addressed the flood in the bathroom. By that time, we were both tired, so around midnight we got into my twin bed (Katie and I are so used to sharing a tiny bed now that it doesn’t even make an impact anymore) and put Harry Potter 4 on my computer. We didn’t even make it through half the movie before we were both sound asleep.

Thursday, May 22

Today at school was a pretty normal day. We stayed after school to practice barras (the dance for the alianza), and then I went home, went for a run, showered, and then wasted a lot of time before eating once with my parents.

Billboard outside my house... Catolic propoganda

Then I went upstairs and watched the news for a while (I really like watching the news in Spanish, but the thing is that if I want to see international news stories I have to watch BBC in English because the Chilean channels only really show Chilean news).

Wednesday, May 21

Today I woke up late and relaxed in my room for a while (we didn’t have school because it is the anniversary of la Batalla de Iquique). Then I went with Lilian into the center to return a shirt she had bought from the mall and to stop for coffee. We walked through the center and had a really good talk. Then I got home, put on more layers because it was freezing outside, and got on a micro to go to Pablo’s house. Pablo lives by the Jumbo, which should take me about 15 minutes to reach, but this micro took a bunch of weird turns and ended up going all throughout Rancagua and arriving at the Jumbo 45 minutes later. I walked through the rain to get to Pablo’s house, and by the time I got there, all I wanted to do was stand next to the stove and get warm. Vicente and Dani were also there, and we talked for a while, and then played this super nerdy board game that Vicente had brought over called Catan. We all basically sucked and Vicente ended up winning by a lot. I had been planning on going home before it got dark so I would be able to get a micro without it being sketchy, but Pablo’s mom wanted me to try this pastry she was cooking, so she offered to drive me home later. We all sat in Pablo’s kitchen and drank tea and ate calzones rotos (literally translated to broken underwear). Then around 8:30, Pablo’s mom took me home. We rode in the car alone together, and she talked to me the whole way and was super incredibly friendly and sweet. She seemed truly interested in what I had to say. When I got home, I ate once with my family, and then showered and got ready for school the next day.

Tuesday, May 20

Today I had to go to school without tights on even though it was absolutely freezing cold because like half the senior class (the taller ones who could march to a beat) had been chosen to march in a parade. Apparently for some holidays, all the schools in the city are called to march in a parade in front of the government members. Tomorrow is the anniversary of the Battle of Iquique where Arturo Pratt (an important Chilean war hero) died. We got out of second and third period to go walk downtown, wait about 45 minutes lined up, and then march for about 2 minutes in front of a few government people lined up in front of the train station in the center of Rancagua. It was kind of funny how much preparation and attention to detail in our uniforms (they made all the girls change socks so we would all match perfectly, and they made us wear white gloves) went into such a little parade.
I guess it was to keep up the reputation of the school. A lot of people told me that all the other schools hate Instituto Ingles because they see us as being spoiled rich kids, and they told me that sometimes in parades like these people will actually spit on the blonde people from our school as they walk by. Nothing happened this time, but I could definitely sense some classism between our school and the others that were marching. Anyway, after school I went home and relaxed for a while before my parents dropped me off at Cata’s house around 9. Louis was already there, and we ate once together and watched a movie while chatting. Then we went next-door to Augustin’s house, where Isa, Vicente, Stefano, and Augustin were hanging out. We sat around and talked and sang along to some good music for a while, and then Cata, Louis, and I left to go to this party called Cumbre. Cata’s brother dropped us off in front of this disco where we thought it was, but when we walked in, the dance floor was completely empty and there were a few older couples sitting around the sides of the room drinking and talking. It was obvious that we were in the wrong place. We had to go outside in the rain and walk around the club to the building behind it, which was also a club, and apparently the place where Cumbre was being held.

We walked in and this time we knew we had gotten it right because it was packed with people and playing good music. I thought going out with just Cata and Louis would be awkward because they are kind of flirting and I would have been totally a third wheel, but right when we entered, I saw Sally’s curly blonde head sitting at one of the tables on the side, and when I went up to her and hugged her, she turned around looking relieved to see me and said she was bored and wanted to leave. I stole her from her friends and made her dance with me so I wouldn’t have to dance with Cata and Louis. The night went from being totally awkward to being totally amazing. Neither Sally nor I have any clue how to dance, but we had the most fun ever trying together.
We just did the stupidest things, but we weren’t at all embarrassed to do them in front of each other, so it was really fun! Sally even commented that half the people in the club probably thought we were drunk because we were dancing so terribly, but we didn’t care because we were together and having fun. At 2:30, Cata, Louis, and I had to go outside to wait for his dad to come pick us up. It was raining outside, and we ended up having to wait until after 3 because Louis’s dad is a typical Chilean, which means that everything happens a little later than planned. When he dropped me off at my house, I had to run upstairs, but on sweatpants and a sweatshirt, turn on the space heater and the bed heater, and jump under the covers shivering  I was so fricken cold. Overall, it was a really great night with some really awesome people.

Monday, May 19

Today we went to school in normal clothes because tomorrow some of the seniors have to march in a city wide parade, so we had to have our uniforms clean and ready. School was nothing particularly special. After school, I walked into the center to meet up with Katie W and Sally, but they were both running late, so I went shopping looking for the last few souvenirs that I need to bring back to the US from Chile. I was sad to find that postcards from Rancagua don’t exist, but other than that I was successful in my souvenir shopping. Then I met up with Katie and Sally and we walked around trying to find a store that would screen-print the sweatshirt we were planning on ordering for all the exchange students in Rancagua. We found one in this sketchy little mall in the center called El Cobrecol, and ordered the sweatshirts. Then we walked around doing a couple errands that Katie needed to do. I said goodbye to them and walked across the center to get a collectivo to my house. At home, I went for a run. I was just finishing the run and getting ready to leave the track where I run and go home when a guy who had been practicing sprints on the track came up to me. He tried to start a conversation with me and even did that stupid “so do you ever come here with your boyfriend” line. He asked me for my number, and I had to tell the truth—that I have no idea what my Chilean phone number is. I told him that we would probably see each other at the track again because I am always there, and then we said goodbye. It’s kind of hilarious how often things like this happen to me in Chile, and I think it’s a mix of the guys being a lot more daring here and me looking very different from a typical Chilean girl. Anyway, I got home, showered, ate once with my family, and went to sleep.

Sunday, May 18

Today Cata and I woke up late, and I wanted to go home pretty quickly because I felt bad that I’d been out of my house for so long. I got home around 12, and Lilian was making lunch. I sat in the kitchen with her and Manuel while they cooked for like 2 hours and we talked. I love talking to them about every little thing under the sun and never having them get tired of what I have to say or listening to my opinions about things. I think that’s one of the best things about being an only child. After we ate lunch,  I went upstairs and worked for a while on my blog (when I say “work on my blog” I really mean waste a lot of time on Facebook and texting people and then write like one day of my blog). Later on, I went for a run, and then we ate once, and I went to bed early. It was a nice relaxing day of doing nothing important.

Typical Once--bread with cheese and avocado and tea

Saturday, May 17

Today I woke up late, and then chilled in my room for a little while before going down the street to catch a collectivo to Master Chef, a restaurant near the movie theater. I live really far away now, so I expected it to take about 45 minutes to get there in collectivo, and it only ended up taking 20, so I got to wait alone listening to music for a very long time before the rest of the exchange students showed up to eat lunch. Katie W, Katie H, Louis, Nigel, and Hugo (this super awesome French kid from Santiago) were there. We ate some nice American food, and started the ordeal of getting back to Louis’s house. First, we waited like half an hour for a micro to pass, then we accidentally got off of it too early, then we really didn’t know how to get where we wanted to go, so the boys and girls split up, and Katie, Katie, and I went one way and they went the other. We ended up losing the competition to get to Louis’s house first because we were cheap and decided to walk the whole way instead of taking the 2 collectivos we would have had to use, but at least we got some exercise. We got to Louis’s house and the guys were outside chilling in his backyard eating candy that Louis's mom had sent him from New Zealand.

We hung out there for a while just talking and laughing, and then we went inside to drink coffee because it had gotten pretty cold outside. The two Katies left around 7, and then the guys and I walked over to the Jumbo. I sat with them while they ate hot dogs, and then Thomas came to pick me up and take me to his house (he was going to take me to the big school party that was going on tonight). We went back to his house and had dinner with his family. They’re super sweet and welcoming with me, and every time his mom sees me, she tells me she’s going to send Thomas to my house in California so he will learn English. They even offered me a bed to sleep in tonight if I didn’t have a place to stay after the party. They’re literally the greatest family ever, and nothing is ever awkward with them. Anyway, around 10 we got dropped off at the party. I just kind of walked between groups talking to my friends, and laughing at Thomas while he got shit faced drunk, and then randomly, Cata showed up at the party with Nigel, Louis, and Hugo. They had planned on going to Bierfest, but decided they would rather come here and surprise me. It was really fun having them there and introducing them to my friends, even though I didn’t really spend the whole night with them. We all had a great time, and when Cata’s brother came to pick us up at 2:30, I still didn’t want to leave. We dropped the exchange students off at Louis’s house, and then Cata and I went to her house. We drank tea, and had a long, deep conversation about life and boys and saying goodbye, and it was really nice to have someone to talk to and just tell everything to. Around 4, we finally got tired and went up to her room to go to sleep.

Friday, May 16

Today was a special day. In Chile, there is a national holiday called Students’ Day, and in my school, it is celebrated a lot. We were all allowed to come to school in normal clothes. A lot of people had planned to go over to someone’s house, sleepover, and get drunk at like 6 in the morning so they could come to school drunk. I arrived at school to find about half the people normal like I was, and the other half completely hilarious and crazy. A few of the girls were twerking on the wall of the classroom at 7:45 in the morning. Before school, Sebastian Gonzalez, the teacher I had chosen as my senior, came to find me and give me a present. It was a framed picture of him and his seniors (me and 2 of my classmates). It was the cutest gesture, and felt so special that he had thought of me. All the students got together in the gym for a big performance that the teachers had planned for us.

The theme of the act this year was World Cup, and all the teachers were dressed up in Chile shirts and crazy hats, they came in on floats like it was carnaval, and they danced a few songs (like Waka Waka by Shakira), and it was basically the most awesome and hilarious thing ever.

After the act was over, we stood around the classrooms talking for a while, and then a few of my friends and I went down to the football fields where each generation was having a bunch of mini soccer games. We watched for a long time and talked, and then school ended at 12:50. Fernanda, Vicente, Pablo, and I then walked into the center to get lunch. We went to this hole in the wall restaurant that served hot dogs and sushi, and we got sushi. I was a little wary of it, but it was really tasty. I really love hanging out with that group of people because they always make me laugh so hard, even if they are making fun of my accent half the time. I had to go home pretty quickly after lunch, because Sally was coming over so we could get ready for a gala together. Sally’s friend Eduardo is a first year student in the Chilean Air Force academy, and he invited her as his date to their annual gala. Eduardo’s friend Nicolas also needed a date, so Sally got to invite me. I had met Nicolas once when he came over to my house last Sunday, and he was a really cool guy, so I wasn’t nervous about going to this thing with him. I am pretty good at getting ready for formal events, and I don’t really need that much time to do what I want to do, so I finished with like an hour to spare. Sally however, was really stressed out and kind of needed everything to be perfect, and I had to work to calm her down. By the time Eduardo and Nicolas came to pick us up, we were totally ready.

When we walked downstairs, it was kind of weird weeing them all dressed up in uniform, but I guess I should have expected that. They were still the same cool guys I had met before, and after we said a quick goodbye to my parents, we had a great time talking and laughing in the car on the way to Santiago. When we arrived at the base, I was a little nervous, because this event seemed really formal and I wasn’t sure I knew how to behave appropriately in English, let alone Spanish. Nicolas was really cool about it though, and kept making jokes about how he didn’t know what he was supposed to be doing either. We walked around arm in arm, and he presented me to his friends and a few of his superior officers. I just had to smile and say hi and that I was an exchange student from California a bunch of times. There were probably about 200 people there, all of them air force people in uniform and their dates. There was a toast with champagne, and then we stood around talking and drinking champagne while listening to saxophone music. It would have been the most boring thing ever if it hadn’t been for the great company we had. However, Sally and I are very inexperienced drinkers who hadn’t eaten a single thing since lunch (because we thought the event included dinner), and we began to feel the champagne taking a little effect, so we excused ourselves to go eat a few of the hors devours that were on the tables. We laughed at how stupid the two gringas looked over in the corner without their dates shoving mini empanadas into their mouths.

When we returned to Eduardo and Nicolas, the saxophone music had stopped and they had turned the lights in the room off, converting it into a sort of discotec, with reggaeton playing. We wanted to go dance, but it was kind of awkward because reggaeton is not the kind of music you dance to when your date is in military uniform and his superior officers are also in the room. I asked Nicolas how we were supposed to dance, and he had no idea either, so we decided to go into the middle of the group of people dancing and just do what we would normally do. Now, I must reiterate the fact that I am not a very good dancer (and worse in the high heels I was wearing that night), but Nicolas may just have been worse than me. The think that made dancing with him so incredibly fun though was that he literally did not care what he looked like, and he just went all out and made a fool of himself, but he was so confident about it that it made me want to join in his dorky dance moves. We had a great time out there dancing together. We took a couple breaks when Sally’s and my feel just couldn’t take it anymore, but we basically danced the rest of the night. Around2, the party finished (they gave all the girls little animal stuffed animals with air force hat sewed onto them as souvenirs), Eduardo dropped Nicolas off at his house in Santiago (I was almost sad saying goodbye to him because I’d had such a great night with him), and then Eduardo took Sally and I back to Rancagua. I was so tired when I finally got home, that I just said hi to my parents and went immediately to sleep. I think my feet probably hurt for like 3 days after because I had danced for so long in heels (and it was against military protocol to take them off at any point during the night).

Thursday, May 15

Today was a pretty boring day. School was nothing special, except that we stayed after school to rehearse the dance for the alianza, and they also taught a second dance. I’m not the best dancer in the world, but they all already know that, so it’s not embarrassing to just go all out in front of them and ask for help if I need it. I have a really great time with the girls in my class now. I think this experience will bring us closer together. After I got home, I was feeling so lazy and tired that I really didn’t do anything at all productive until once. I ate once with the family, and then went up to my room, tried to write in my blog for a while, but then got lazy and watched TV for a while before going to sleep.

Wednesday, May 14

Today I woke up at the same time as always, although I wasn’t planning on going to school. Nicolo, Nigel, Katie W, and I met at Terminal O’Higgins at 8:30 to take the bus up to Santiago.

We then took the metro down to Feria Santa Lucia, where Katie and I needed to buy all the souvenirs we wanted to take back to the US with us.

We spent a little while looking around the giant feria with the guys, but we pretty quickly realized that with them there we weren’t going to get anything done, so we told them to go meet up with the exchange students from Santiago and that we would join them after we were done. Then the real work began. We both had long lists of souvenirs we wanted to buy for our families and friends, and so we combed through the feria for about 2 hours looking for everything we wanted at the best prices we could find it all for. We really did end up spending a lot of money, but I knew we would, and I think it was pretty necessary to buy the souvenirs I did for everyone. After our backpacks were stuffed and we were each carrying bags in our hands, we took the metro over to Costanera Center to eat lunch at Johnny Rockets and enjoy some good American food.

After lunch, we went to this really awesome mall called Parque Arauco just to look around since I'd never been before and I'd heard so much about it.

Parque Arauco

Then we took the metro over to Baquedano, where we had planned to meet up with the other exchange students. After a long and confusing phone call with Aidan, where he led us all over the park before finally being able to accurately describe where they were sitting, we joined up with the group. We sat in a circle on the grass and talked for a while. A random dude came up to us and sat down and started playing guitar for us, which was kind of weird but also kind of cool and hippie. When it got to be about 5:30, we all decided to go home before it got dark. We parted ways with Cassidy, Gabrienne, Kristen, Aidan, Felix, Nigel, Nicolo (who were going home later), and Katie and I went back to the bus terminal in the center and got a bus back to Rancagua.

Santiago Center

It had been a long day and we were too tired to talk on the way home, so we just listened to music together. We got to the terminal, and Katie bought us hot chocolate to drink while we waited for our parents to pick us up. Mine came first, so I said bye to Katie and went home. I unpacked all the awesome souvenirs I had bought in my room while Lilian made once, and then we all ate together while I told them about what a great day I’d had. Then they saw how tired I was, and let me go to sleep early.

Tuesday, May 13

Today was a very average day, which is basically exactly what I needed after a whirlwind week last week.  I went to school, took a chemistry test even though I hadn’t even been there when the material was taught (I got a 5,7 which is really good and everyone thought I was some sort of genius and I tried to explain about AP Chem but they didn’t really get it hahaha that’s ok I’ll let them keep thinking I’m a genius). After school, I stayed until 4:30 practicing the alianza dance with my friends. The alianza is the school’s anniversary, and to celebrate it, each class, A, B, and C (every lever, kindergarten through senior year is divided into 3 classes—A, B, and C), is its own alianza (I’m in the alianza A), and the 3 alianzas compete in a variety of activities to win the title. It’s basically a week of fun competitions. Apparently it’s super competitive thought because the alianzas are the week of July 11 (2 days before I leave Chile, which is perfect timing because the alianzas are like the most important event of the year in school) and we’re already preparing for the dance competition. After school, I went home, wrote in my blog for a little while, went for a run, ate once with my family, and went to bed early.

Monday, May 12

Today I had to finally go back to school after a relaxing week off. It was nice seeing my friends again and telling them all about my amazing time on Easter Island. After school  I went home for a little while to change clothes, and then I went to the Jumbo to buy a few things, then to Sally’s house to drop off some gifts I brought my family from the island (and to say hi since I hadn’t been to the house since I moved). I was planning on spending some time with Monse and Maxi and Sra Adela, but Sally said we had to leave immediately to go to the center to look for dresses and shoes for the gala we have on Friday night, so I just had to hug them and promise to visit soon and stay for more time. Sally and I took a collectivo to the center and ran around like crazies looking for dresses and shoes (and stopping to get some yummy fruit flavored frozen yogurt). Sally ended up deciding that dresses were expensive and she would use a dress she already has, and I found shoes for $24 and had already been planning on using my prom dress from the States. We hurried over to catch a collectivo back to the Jumbo so we wouldn’t be late to our 7:00 coffee date with our moms. When we all arrived, we sat down at Berezzi (the coffee shop in the Jumbo), and drank our coffees and talked for about 2 hours.

It was really nice to catch up with Nancy and to tell her everything that was going on in my life. I didn’t realize how much I missed her and valued her reactions to the things I tell her about what’s going on in my life. I really do feel like she’s my mom and I just want to hug her and have her tell me she loves me too. It was kind of an amazing realization. We finally went home around 9 because we had been sitting outside and it became too cold to bear, but we promised that we would have another mother daughter coffee date sometime soon. When Lilian and I got home, we ate once with Manuel, and then I went to sleep.

Sunday, May 11

Today Cata, Louis, and I woke up around 11, and I decided I needed to go home early to be with my family after we hadn’t seen each other for over a week. Louis’s dad came and picked him and me up and dropped me off at my house. I walked in and was only to talk to my parents for about 10 minutes about the trip and everything I’d done and everything they’d done before we got surprise visitors. Next week, Sally’s friend Eduardo had invited her to the gala of the air force school where he studies, and his friend also needed a date, so Sally invited me to go as Eduardo’s friend Nicholas’s date. Nicholas and Eduardo had decided to stop by my house on their day off to meet me and reassure Manuel that I would be in good hands at the gala. We all awkwardly sat down in the living room and talked for a few hours. I tried to make it as not awkward as possible by telling jokes and funny stories, and the boys tried to do the same, but basically everything that Manuel is involved in is very uncomfortable for everyone else, and this was no different. We still had fun exchanging meaningful looks about how bored and uncomfortable we were, and when they left a few hours later, I knew that the gala was going to be really fun with these guys. After they left, I went upstairs to put on a jacket, and then we got in the car and went to Donihue to visit Lilian’s family for the day. Today is Mothers’ Day, so I got Lilian a moai statue from Easter Island and wrote her a card, and I wrote Nancy a Facebook message, and Sally and I planned to take them out for coffee tomorrow after school (it’s fun because we share the same two Chilean moms, so we can do things for them together). We spent the day in Donihue chatting with Lilian’s awesome family and eating the great food that’s always there. My little cousin Luciana came to her grandma’s house specifically because she knew I would be coming, which I just found so adorable. Luciana is 10 and she’s an only child too, so I totally relate to how she feels and what she’s going through (she’s honestly a lot like I was at that age), so we have fun together. After once, Lilian, Manuel, and I returned home early so I would have time to Skype my real mom for Mothers’ Day. I told her how much I love her and how crazy it is that we will be seeing each other face to face in less than 2 months now. I still don’t know if that makes me sad and depressed because I’m leaving Chile or ecstatic because I get to see my family and friends back home again. Anyway, I was still tired from staying up so late the night before, so I went to bed early. 

Saturday, May 10

Today I woke up around 9 at Lily’s house, packed up my stuff, and got her dad to drop me off at the metro station. Then I had an interesting 2 hours navigating through the Santiago metro alone, but I met a nice man who helped me (even though I really didn’t need any help), and talked to me for about 30 minutes before I had to change lines. I eventually made it to the bus station about 45 minutes before Katie and I had planned to meet, so I bought a muffin for breakfast, and went to eat it while waiting for her. I was listening to music and walking toward a seat, so I almost didn’t notice when I passed right by Ruth and Michelle, also waiting in the bus terminal for their bus to Talca. We sat together and talked while I waited for Katie, and then when she got there, we bought our bus tickets and said goodbye to Ruth and Michelle, promising to see them soon, and got on our bus. We got back to Rancagua around 2, and then I waited for a collectivo for a long time and didn’t actually get back to my house until 3. My parents were at a family event in Curico, so I was home alone. I unpacked my suitcase, admired my awesome souvenirs, and packed a backpack because I was planning on spending the night at Cata’s house since my parents weren’t home. I took a collectivo over to the Jumbo and met up there with Fernanda, Lila, and Camila. It was Lila’s birthday, and she had invited us to a “tea party” at her house. I brought graham crackers from the US as her birthday gift, and made them come with me quickly to the jumbo to get marshmallows and chocolate. We went to Lila’s house and sat and talked for a while, and then had an adorable fancy tea party with cinnamon rolls, scones, and marmalade. After the tea, we went into her nice cozy living room (Lila lives in the country in a big country house made of wood so everything is nice and cozy with lots of blankets and comfy things) and watched Pride and Prejudice. All 3 of them basically quoted me the entire movie in English which was pretty hilarious. After the movie ended, we toasted marshmallows in the little chimney on the side of the room and then I got to watch their faces as they tried their first s’mores.

They laughed at how American they felt doing something they’d only ever seen in movies. Then we all sat on the couch for a while longer talking and gossiping about people before Camila’s parents came to pick her and me up around 10:30. They drove us back to Rancagua and dropped me off outside this bar inside a train car that is on the side of the street by my school. There, Cata, Pablo, Vicente, and Louis were chilling and drinking some beer. I arrived and we talked for a while longer, and then walked all the way back to Cata’s house around 12. Whenever Louis is hanging out with my friends, they kind of take advantage of the chance to practice their English and just speak in English. I would never let them do it when they’re just with me, but I can’t really stop them or blame them when Louis is there, so we spoke in a mix of half-English and half-Spanish. Vicente and Pablo are really amazing at English so it really wasn’t a problem.

When we got to Cata’s house, we sat around eating chips and laughing and talking about stupid stuff for a long time. Around 2, Vicente’s parents picked him up (Pablo had already left), and Cata, Louis, and I lay down on her floor with a bunch of pillows to watch a movie. By the time the movie was over and Louis tried to call his dad to come get him, his dad was already asleep, so Louis had to sleep over too. We put out 2 mattresses on Cata’s floor, and Cata slept in her bed, I slept on one mattress and Louis on the other. We stayed up until like 5 in the morning talking and laughing and being weird until we were finally so tired we couldn’t handle it anymore and went to sleep.

Friday, May 9

Today we woke up early, ate breakfast, and then were given an hour to pack up our stuff. I had brought a suitcase pretty full, and with the souvenirs that I had bought, it was pretty difficult to make the zipper close, but I ended up doing it. Then we all sat by the pool and waited for a while. We left around 11 for the airport, and when we got there, the counselors were waiting for us with shell necklaces to put around our necks.

We went through security and then waited for the plane to be ready while we continued signing flags. On the plane, Katie W and I got lucky enough to sit together again, and we watched Blades of Glory together. Then we got up and talked to people for a while and signed some more flags. Later, Nigel sat down in the seat next to me, put his head in my lap, and just said, “Alex I’m really going to miss you when we leave”. It was the cutest thing ever, and it basically described how we were all feeling on the plane ride back to Santiago. It was an unspoken sadness hanging in the air that these were the last moments we would spend all together. Sure, we would probably see each other again at going away parties, but nothing would be certain after this. When we got off the plane, a few people were already crying. After we got our bags and got ready to say goodbye to everybody and leave, the waterworks really started. We were all hugging and crying and promising to stay in touch and to visit in whatever country is most convenient. I know I haven’t known these people for that long or spent that much time with them, but being an exchange student somehow allows you to make very strong connections very quickly, and we are all connected so tightly now that I know we will forever be a family. It is sad that we all live so far apart and honestly will never be all together ever again. But, life moves on and things change, and I think that is the next lesson that my exchange has in store for me—how to move on and say goodbye. After we left the airport, Lily’s parents drove us back to her house.

We were pretty tired from the flight and from all the emotions of the day, so we just made some mac and cheese, talked for a little while, and then went to sleep early.

Thursday, May 8

Today we woke up at the same time as always and had breakfast, and then we all met out by the pool to get dance lessons from the dancers who had dome the dinner show for us the night before. Basically, it was totally unfair because the guys got to go off and be all manly and shout and jump around a little bit, while us girls had to make complete fools of ourselves trying to move our hips like crazy while keeping our hands calm and pretty which is honestly just impossible and sad. We still had fun though, laughing at ourselves and our incapability of moving our hips in any form remotely close to what our teachers did so easily. After an hour of dance lessons, we were turned loose for free time.

Sally and I put on our cool Chilean pants (which are totally not socially acceptable in the US which is exactly why we bought them), and walked into the center to buy a couple souvenirs that we still needed. Katie H and I ended up separating from the group and walking to this gorgeous beach (but without sand) where we found some of our friends surfing.

Then we found Terrence on the shore with a Pascuense man using an exacto knife to cut sea urchin spines out of his foot because he had apparently stepped on it while surfing. It wasn’t a pretty sight. We waited for the dudes to get out of the water, and then walked with them back to the hotel for lunch (Terrence got picked up in car because he couldn’t walk). After lunch, we had more free time, and this time we had a plan to take advantage of as much of it as possible. A group of about 10 of us walked quickly into town and rented bikes. Sally got a map, and led us up to this row of 7 moais which is famous because they are the only moais facing toward the ocean and not inward toward the island. We were told that the ride would take about 45 minutes, but we did not factor in all the hills and the intense heat of the island and the fact that we aren’t exactly seasoned bike riders.

We eventually made it, but by the time we got there we were all dead tired with read faces and sweaty backs. We took pictures of the moais, and then rode quickly and easily back down the mountain and back to the beach where Katie and I had found people surfing.

We got a much needed ice cream cone from a store by the water, and then changed into bathing suits to go for a swim (it was much to strong of a tide for us amateurs to try surfing).

I had forgotten my bathing suit, so I went in my sports bra and underwear, which was totally fine until we found one of our counselors tanning on the rocks and I suddenly felt very naked and awkward.

Anyway, after swimming and chatting with Katie H while sitting on the rocks and watching the surfers, we rode the bikes over to that same row of 5 moais that I had seen on the first day, and sat there to watch the sunset. By that time, our group had dwindled to 4 people—me, Marlene, Madeline, and Katie H, but we had a great time talking and watching the amazing sunset.

We met a 21 year old guy who was sitting near us who told us all about how he had been traveling the world alone for 9 months, working in whatever place he was to save money for the plane ticket to the next country. He told us about all the crazy things that had happened to him in Nepal and Thailand and so many other places, and I just got more and more sure that I want to keep traveling forever. It’s not even a want, it’s a need that I have to see the world, to meet its people, and to have unforgettable experiences in all its remote corners. I have without a doubt discovered my passion in life, and it is travel. Anyway, we walked back to the hotel in the dark after the sun had set, and ate dinner with everyone. Then, we all sat outside for a long time since it was the last night. We had all either bought Rapa Nui flags or brought Chilean flags or journals for people to sign, and we went around signing everyone’s flags and journals and whatnot. It was a pretty sad last night just because after this trip, there is no guarantee that we will see each other again, and a lot of people are leaving very soon. I tried to put that out of my mind and just enjoy being in such an amazing place with such amazing people for one more night.

Wednesday, May 7

Today we woke up early again and ate breakfast, preparing for another full day of exploring the island. We split into 3 different groups and went on this super long hike.

First we explored caves under ground. We had to crawl and try not to slip and fall and even at one point we had to climb directly upward out of a hole in the ceiling to get back to the path.

We followed the path through fields of green and around the edge of the island with the deep blue water smashing against its cliffs. I walked for a long time with Evan from the US, Victor from Denmark, and Alex from Germany. They’re all super smart and politically aware kids, and the amazing discussion we had about world politics and the different philosophies on what politics are correct and incorrect around the world is an experience I will never forget. I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of talking to people from other parts of the world because their points of view are so different and so interesting. After the hike, we went back to the hotel and had the whole afternoon free.

A bunch of us went down to the center (giant trucks drive by and you can just stop them and jump into the back and they’re usually nice people who will take a group of 15 exchange students down to the center of town).

First, we drank some freshly squeezed juices in this little café, and then we started the souvenir shopping. We bought stuff for ourselves, our host families, and our families at home, which ended up being a whole lot of buying. My favorite purchase was a Rapa Nui sweatshirt. I always see Chilean exchange students who went to the US with their Disneyland sweatshirts and whatnot and I finally have a cool sweatshirt to wear in the US when I return. I also bought about 50 million postcards (they’re what I collect). We also brought our passports and got them stamped with the official Easter Island stamp in the post office.

Rapa Nui people do not consider themselves Chilean, and most do not like the fact that Easter Island is a part of Chile.

After spending a long time buying everything we needed, we walked back to the hotel to eat dinner. During dinner, Pascuense dancers came in and did a traditional dance show for us. After dinner, we hung out with our friends talking and chilling for a while before going to sleep.