Friday, December 20

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 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.

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.