Officially Passed the 3 Week Mark!

Alright, so these past two weeks have been jammed packed with moving in with my new host family, Spanish classes for 5 hours a day 5 days a week, touring Santiago and seeing some of the best it has to offer, and attempting the social life of a Chilean. I have learned so much, or I guess I should say "relearned" so much Spanish since being here. It is so difficult to not be able to express emotions or complex thoughts to my host family. I want to explain to them how much everything they do means to me and how they have become my family away from family. Unfortunately, This sentence comes out as "Muchas gracias para todo tu haces. Tu eres una persona muy amable y muy especial." So simple, but it's the best I can do at the moment.

Last Sunday, we had a family day at "Parque Maguita" where we bbq'd chicken, carne, and mini hot dogs and enjoyed each other's company for hours. Some of us decided to play a little volleyball, but our game was abruptly ended when our ball received a puncture =(. After cleaning everything up, we all trekked to a booth where we bought a ride on the roller coaster. Who would have thought that a simple tube with a cart in it would be so much fun!! Saving the best for last, we then made our way to the massive swing. It's exactly like the one at Six Flags Magic Mountain, but instead of paying $60, we paid $12! They guy who helped us put on our gear was a little jokester and kept saying that the suit was broken and no one had been on the swing in years, so he wasn't sure it would work and that he forgot how to attach the harness correctly. Cat was a bit nervous, but his teasing helped her forget her worries. As we reached the top and awaited the sudden drop that was to come, I gazed out over the beautiful mountains and thought about how fortunate we are to be given such an incredible creation. And then...we dropped. I screamed the whole way down and back up. I felt the sense once more of free fall as I did when skydiving. What a rush!!! Exhausted from the day, I fell asleep in the back seat on the drive home. Dirty, sweaty and very tired, all I wanted was a shower and bed, but we ended up on the terrace talking more with the family and friends. I couldn't have been more content in that moment. I loved listening to them talk with one another and seeing them interact.

Over the past 3 weeks of being here, I have come to the conclusion that no matter what I do or how hard I try, I will never fully be accepted into this culture. Every morning as Cat and I make our way to the metro, men stare with sick looks in their eyes, kids point and pull on their mom's skirts to look, we hear "gringa" more times than any other Spanish word every day. This is all because we are different. I find it very interesting that the beautiful women here do not get much attention. In the States, they are considered exotic and sexy, but here, they are just the normal. It makes me wonder if I should have kept my hair dark.

Yesterday was a rollercoaster of a day. It began in blur as I sleepily dressed myself for class and headed down to make myself a cup of coffee. This did not go so well. As I put the lid on my cup of boiling coffee, it somehow slipped and poured itself down my top and onto my chest. Of course, I was wearing a white shirt which made it all that much better. I felt as though someone had used gasoline to light my chest on fire. I tried putting cold water on it, but it only hurt worse. We were already running late for class so I quickly changed and got my things, but as we rode the metro to school, I was in so much pain that I wanted to cry. It also didn't help things that for some reason this was the day I seriously missed some people back home. During my break, I had to head back to the pharmacy to get some cream to put on my now blistering and red chest. You can imagine how excited I was to put the yellow goopy stuff on under my other white shirt =/. I can't help but feel as though Santiago has a problem with me...After class, we took a group trip to Pompaire-the clay capital of Chile! First thing on the agenda was lunch, and I ordered myself a 1/2 kilo empenada (of course I only ate half, but still...). Next, we got to take care of any nostalgia we had for playing with play-dough and made clay cups and figurines. After my catastrophe of a cup, I made a treble cleft to keep with me as a great memory. Then we got to sit at the wheel to spin the pottery and make a pot. The whole time, I was reminded of what it means to be clay in the Potter's hands. I pray that I allow Him to mold me and not become dry and hardened to his touch. The ride home was tiring but not too bad.

When we finally arrived home, Cat and I quickly got ready to leave the house for karaoke night! We spent the next 6 hours enjoying the company of some great new friends (some gringos and some Chilenos) and encouraging one another to get up on stage and perform. Of the few English songs available, I rocked out to Christina Aguilera's "Genie in a Bottle" and Brittney Spear's "Oops! I did it again". It was so much fun to just let loose and enjoy the stage again (my guilty pleasure). The best part is that back home, I'd be way too self conscious to rock out like I did when most of the people didn't even understand the words I was singing!When we got back at 4:30 in the morning, we promptly fell into dreamland anticipating the adventures of tomorrow.

With our checks in hand (the ones given to us for lunch each day by the program), we headed to the market to buy healthy food for lunch. The end result was glorious as we enjoyed tomato and avocado sandwiches with our bbq chips and natural fruit juice. What a great switch from burgers smothered in mayo!!! We are now on our way to a bbq at our friend's place, so I'll have to write again soon to share my new adventures! <3