Much Needed Update!

I´m so sorry that it has taken me so long to update my blog. I realize that once I get behind, it is so hard to catch up!!


4.16-17
The perfect time came for me to go to one of the most highly spoken of places in the south of Chile...Valdivia!! Better yet, I was going to spend the weekend with two of my great friends from Santiago, Maria and Vanessa. We began by picking up some things for the weekend at the grocery store and dropping it off at the house. Then we went to the center to see what was available to keep us busy. We found a warehouse that houses a craft market as well as several restaurants with beautiful views of the river. After walking around and looking at the things for sale, we enjoyed a meal overlooking the fish market and the river where we watched little sea lions play and swim around. Next, we meandered around to see the town a little before heading to the house. Once at the house, we decided to put on some music and catch up...with no surprise, we ended up having our own little dance party in the living room!!
The next day, we headed out to see the fort where it seems no battle was actually fought, but it still holds a lot of history and interesting artifacts. Thankfully, it was a beautiful day, and we were able to enjoy about an hour walking around and taking pictures of the incredible scenery and views. Then, we headed off for lunch at the Kuntzman factory. All I can say was that the sandwich that came was so much bigger than any I´d ever seen before.

4.21.11
Easter was a very interesting time for me to be in another country. For the first time of my life, I had the opportunity to witness another culture celebrate one of the holidays that I hold as very important. Let me begin by explaining some of the traditions in my family when it comes to Easter. First of all, this holiday holds quite a bit of significance in my relationship with Christ. Without God allowing His Son to be sacrificed, I would have no hope at salvation, for that matter, I would have no hope at all. During this time of year, I reflect more than ever the significance of the cross and all that Christ has done in my life and through my life. Second, holidays are always used to justify getting the entire family together-aunts, uncles, grandparents, cousins, etc.-to spend time together for a day. Many of my favorite memories growing up are of dying Easter eggs with my cousins or sitting around on the couches and watching Grant & Brandon battle it out to see who was stronger or hanging out with everyone in my grandparents’ Jacuzzi and talking about life.

I’ve only missed two of these major Easter get-togethers and that was because I had midterms the next week and desperately needed to lose myself in my studies. This year, however, I’m serving as a volunteer English teacher in the south of Chile. So, as Easter rolled around, I had mixed emotions regarding the occasion. Part of me was thankful for the time to solely focus on my Lord and not have anything distracting me, but a very large part of me wanted to curl up in bed and sleep the day away and pretend I wasn’t missing anything back home. Thankfully, God used the people in my life down here to make it a wonderful weekend (and Skype helped too!)

On Thursday, I went with my head-teacher to his church. This was my first time going to a LDS church in any country so I was very curious to learn about it. I had a great time meeting the young adults there and answering all of their questions. Many of them are studying English at the University, so it was a great opportunity for them to practice speaking with a native speaker. They did a little lesson about what it means to judge people and showed a video of Nick Vujici (the man born with no arms or legs). It was cool because I´ve seen him speak a few times at the Rock church and he really is inspirational. Then we did a type of Easter egg hunt where we ended up with bags of chocolates and candy.

4.22.11
Friday, they had another get together where we played volleyball and basketball. I had so much fun running around and eating and just hanging out with everyone. They were all so nice and didn´t mind that I´m not Mormon. It was such a blessing to make these new friends and spend time with Alexis and his amazing family.


4.24.11
Sunday morning, we all packed in the car (Yenny, Mom, Dad, Aunt Norma, Me) and headed to Entre Lagos and Lago Puyehue. I don´t really have much to say except that my breath was taken away time after time by the things that I got to see that day. I can´t believe so much natural beauty exists in this world. I felt the name of God declared by the seas, waterfalls, mountains, and rocks. The hard part was standing there wishing I could turn to someone and say, ¨Do you see this? Isn´t it amazing?¨ but not having anyone there. So instead, I told God hat He did such a good job and I´m so thankful that I get to see His creation.

When we got home, I hopped on Skype and had an hour long talk with my mom´s whole side of the family at my grandparents´house and loved seeing everyone. It made it feel like I wasn´t quite so far from home. Although I expected an emotional breakdown after realizing how much I missed everyone, I found myself sleeping very soundly when I chose to dwell on all the great things God is doing in my life and the lives around me.

4.28.11
One day after school, my host dad walks in and tells me that we are going to Alondra’s birthday party. I can´t exactly explain how, but I´m pretty sure there is some type of family relationship with her. Anyways, she was turning 7 so we all got in the car and went over to the family´s new home. I can´t even tell you how gorgeous this home was. I felt like it belonged in a magazine or something. We enjoyed little sandwiches and coffee as the kids played up stairs until it was time for birthday cake. To my amusement, they carried out a tradition that has been in my family for years...someone shoved her face in the cake!!! It was classic. Then the family asked if it was possible to skype with someone from the US (this kind of confused me since I was sitting right there...I kinda wanted to say ¨hello? do you know I´m a gringa?¨jaja). So, after a bit of searching, I got online with Miss Lauren Felt (my roommate from college) and we all had a little skype party.
 

4.30.11 (Saturday)
Desperately needing to get my haircut, I asked Ana Jones (one of my co-teachers) if she would go with me to make sure I explained myself well to the hairdresser. We ended up making a full day of it and did some shopping after. Thankfully, I love my new haircut and I think it will grow out pretty nicely as well.That night, we were invited to go out dancing with some of the other teachers and volunteers. We devised our plan to make sure that we went home decently early since she had a lot to do the next day, and I had to get home early for a trip with my host dad in the morning. Well, it didn´t quite work out to get home early, but we had such a great time dancing the night away and hanging out with everyone.

5.1.11
Although this particular Sunday did not include church, it was one of the days that I felt closest to my Savior. I walked home from the bus stop very early in the morning and watched as the sun emerge from behind the mountains and the trees and create a heavenly effect on the sky above. I arrived with just enough time to take a quick shower and get ready for the trip around Lago Llanquihue.

With my camera in hand, I was prepared for the day driving around the lake with my host dad, aunt, and grandma. I wasn’t very sure what to expect, so I just buckled up and prepared myself for anything. First on the agenda was to explore a bit of Puerto Octay. Here we found beautiful old homes and hotels that were definitely picture worthy. Also, the views of the volcanoes were enough to have me singing in worship to their Creator. Next, we began the drive to the base of the volcano and then up the windy road to the top. I felt the temperature of the air drop as we neared the snowy cap of the volcano. When we reached the parking area, our picnic commenced and we ate sandwiches with turkey and avocado with a glass of fresh apple juice.

After our lunch, we hopped back in the car and continued on our “paseo” (trip). Next on the agenda was to travel to Saltos de Petrohue (Petrohue falls). Here I found myself in awe as I watched a huge amount of water cascade from several cavities in the earth into one large river. I could hardly believe that a place such as this was almost deserted. I truly believe that if I lived so close, I’d go to this wonderful place at least once a week to gaze upon such an inspiring sight.

We headed from there to continue driving around the lake. We briefly drove through Puerto Varas but decided that it was more profitable to continue on to Frutillar. We stopped on the way at a friend of the family’s home that is currently being built. His wife is from the Netherlands, so we talked about the many difficulties of learning the Spanish language especially through people who have heavy German accents.

5.5.11
Let me begin by saying that Cinco de Mayo is just not the same when you live thousands of miles from California. On the other hand, it ended up being a pretty fun night. I’ll back up and mention that due to teaching my students about the reason we celebrate Cinco de Mayo in the US, I now know more than I’ve ever known before about the holiday. After classes, I went home and got ready to be gone for the whole weekend since I was spending the night in the center and leaving the next morning for two days in Puerto Montt.
Luisa, Zach and I began our night by eating Chilean versions of tacos (not bad but not the same) and talking about how things were going with teaching. We each shared some of our horror stories and the funny things that have happened so far. It was great to talk to people who are going through many of the same things. Then we decided to look for a place to go dancing. Turned out that no one else was going out to dance on this particular Thursday night, so we had the entire disco to ourselves and just made a night of it.

5.6.11
Although I desired to spend my entire day in bed, I woke up in time to meet Zach at the bus stop to go to our meeting in Puerto Montt. We met the other volunteers and coordinators for lunch to catch up before the meeting. At the meeting, we spent two hours going over our experiences with our host families, teachers, schools, and students. I found myself very appreciative for my experience thus far with all of the aforementioned variables. I have a family that truly feels like family to me and treats me like their own daughter, a head teacher that invites me into his home and his family and who is always willing to help me with anything I need, a school that functions very well and includes some of the most incredible people, and students that I honestly adore and know that I will miss very much. Not that the other volunteers are having awful experiences, but many have at least one issue or another. After the meeting, we all went to a little restaurant to just hang out and of course, the waiter had lived in Canada and spoke perfect English...so much for learning Spanish! hehe

A few of us had decided to stay the night in this part of the region, so we wandered into the mall to search out the Pizza Hut. We didn’t have high expectations since “American food” does not often measure up to the way it tastes back home. However, after a very long wait, we were served very accurate Pizza Hut pizza!! YUM!! Next, we all caught the 20 minute bus to Puerto Varas where we had decided to spend the rest of our evening and find a hostal. We began our evening at the restaurant next door where low and behold we end up meeting a group of people from Ventura County. After flying thousands of miles away and living in a small town in the south of Chile, I end up sitting and talking to people who are basically my neighbors back in California.
When we had all sat and talked long enough, we headed to the best place in Puerto Varas to get some exercise...the disco! Several hours passed with us dancing our hearts out to reggaeton, rap, reggae, pop, 80’s, 90’s, metal, salsa, mambo, and every other type of music known to man. I have to say that it has been fun being able to dance to songs that I grew up listening to when I sat in a carseat. Unfortunately, dancing not only pushed my leg muscles to the limits, but also my cowboy boots =(. I found that the bottom had a large crack and would no longer keep my feet warm or dry. After we had all exhausted all resources available for dancing, Elliot, one of the volunteers that lives in that city, took us over to Paradise...literally...it was the name of a burger joint where I regrettably demolished a huge Paradise Burger at 4:30 in the morning.

5.7.11
I awoke Saturday to drizzling outside and promptly got on a bus to head back to Puerto Montt to buy some things at a cheaper price. After buying some shoes, a belt, a scarf, and some warm socks, I hopped on a bus to head home (yes, home). I arrived just in time for my lunch with my head teacher (and now good friend) and his family (Carolina and Tiki). This family has become some of my closest friends in South America. I am so blessed to have these people in my life. Knowing that I was missing Mexican food, Carolina made tacos and I swear she got the recipe from my mom. She even had spicy taco salsa!!! After forcing my 4th taco into my full stomach, I couldn’t imagine anything more delicious. However, after a round of mate (an herbal tea that is more about the feeling of family than the drink itself) and a quick trip to Jumbo, I found myself teaching Carolina about Root Beer Floats and soaking up the story of how she and Alexis fell in love. I’m advising her to write a book because the story is truly beautiful. She had also bought Dr. Pepper for her family to try and I’m pretty sure she doesn’t plan on drinking any other soda ever again. =D

5.8.11
I began Sunday/Mother’s Day by connecting with my dad very early in the morning on Skype. We planned it out so that I could wake my mom up like I have most Mother’s Days since I was little by singing to her. He took the computer into her dark room and I was able to continue a tradition for another year. It was so special to still be able to honor my incredible mom on this special day. I know that we should honor our parents all of the time, but it is so great to have a day dedicated to celebrating the selfless way that they live their lives once they have children. My gift to her was a poem that I wrote and after reading it, we had to quickly change the subject as we both began to get emotional. I have to confess that there have been a few rough days during my time here in Chile that I really missed my family. They have always meant so much to me, but I thought it wouldn’t be that difficult after living in San Diego for 4 years. Also, being so independent, I didn’t expect it to be so hard. However, I also see how fortunate I am to have the chance to really see the value of the relationships that I have with the people in my family.
 

After a nice chat and catching up with my parents, I proceeded to call my grandmas to tell them Happy Mother’s Day as well. Again, I realized how blessed I am to have such a close family. Then, I wandered into the kitchen where my host mom was preparing the hot water for coffee and gave her the frame I had bought her. I think she was very surprised that I would get her anything. It was a special moment. I also told her that I’d get the picture printed sometime this week.
 

I spent the next hour working on my bible study since I didn’t take it with me over the weekend and really enjoyed some time with God. I read about understanding what it means to have authority as Christians and that we can only exercise authority if we are living under the authority of Christ. It wasn’t something I had ever really thought deeply about before, but as I did, I realized how quickly and how easily, my life can become directionless and powerless. When I submit myself to the authority and plans of God, then I can see His power through my prayers and through my life. This was a great reminder of my purpose of being in Chile. Yes, I am here to help the students learn English, but so much more, I am here to be a light for Christ and to allow Him to use me in the lives of the people I meet. With so many distractions, it’s easy to lose focus.
At 1pm, it was time to head to Aunt Norma’s house for lunch with the family. I swear that I ate enough to last me the entire day and probably two more. We began with empanadas (which I intend to learn how to cook) and then a savory salad with tomatoes, avocado, lettuce, hardboiled egg, and tuna salad. During this time, we proceeded to converse about politics, religion, and my experience so far in Chile. I felt like such a part of the family and my host mom even said to them that she loved having two daughters. juan Carlos (my host dad’s brother) said that he was amazed by my Chilean accent and that I only had a little bit of an English accent...I almost cried with joy! Lastly came the desserts which included leche asada (a type of flan), kuchen (German apple pie), and a manjar layered cracker cake. You would think that this much sugar would have had us bouncing off the walls, but all I wanted to do after the glorious lunch was sleep. So, upon arriving home, I laid down and enjoyed a 2 hour siesta!

 
When I woke up, I quickly jumped on the computer to enjoy a Skype session with a large majority of my family that was at my parents’ home to celebrate the day. What a special and incredible time it was to talk to everyone and see how everyone was. I can’t tell you how much I miss everyone and how excited I am to be home and be a part of all of their lives again. On the other hand, it is so neat to see how God works from a distance.
I’ll end by saying Happy Mother’s Day one last time to the most incredible, loving, talented, selfless woman I’ve ever known. I love you so much mom and not only are you a great mother, but you are also one of my best friends. I can’t wait to spend a week with you in Peru where I don’t have to call you back every 20 minutes when my internet stops working. I look forward to many wonderful memories to be made when I get back. Lastly, I remember countless things that I am thankful for that you have done for me. I am so blessed to have you in my life and I love you more than I could ever express.

5.12.11=Student´s Day/Dia de Alumnos
This particular Thursday did not include classes. Instead, we were privileged to entertain our students for ¨their day¨. Fortunately, since arriving in Chile, I have refused to let embarrassment stop me from having a great time, and for this day, I did exactly that. My first performance was as Miley Cyrus singing ¨Party in the USA¨. With a wig, hat, and similar clothing style, I got up on stage and sang my heart out. The video later showed me that I really need to work on stage presence! My later debut was as Justin Bieber with Juan Carlos, the P.E. teacher, as Ludacris singing ¨Baby¨. I didn´t actually sing this time, I just danced around and pretended to be the little boy who is famous for who knows why. I laughed so hard when all of my young girls screamed at his name. Later, I was asked to play soccer on a team of teachers against students. I tried to warn them that I have no coordination with kicking a ball, but no one listened. After again making a fool out of myself trying to run back and forth in the gym to stay near the ball, I finally quit and swore to myself that I was going to start running a few times a week to get back in shape.

When it was time for lunch, all but the high school students left and we got to enjoy a delicious barbecue with them (breaking so many health codes in California that I was a bit nervous). I sat talking to a few of my seniors who have excellent commands of English and really soaked up the time that I had to get to know them better. It was in this moment that I began to realize how much I´m going to miss my students.

5.20.11
My morning began by receiving my first check from the program. After walking over to the bank and getting everything sorted out, I found myself in possession of way too much cash. Then I headed to the school to meet the rest of the teachers to head over to where we were having lunch. I think I´ve mentioned before that my school did very well on the SIMCE tests (similar to star testing in the US) and my principal wanted to celebrate by taking everyone out to lunch. So when we arrived at Club de Union, I was shocked at the effort put forth to celebrate the achievement of the school. The place that we had the lunch was at an old home that was converted into a restaurant type of place, but I think it is only used for special events and private functions. I thought about how incredible it would be to be an event coordinator for a place like this. It was so special to sit and talk to all of the staff and faculty that works at my school. During the meal, several people stood up and gave small speeches about how proud they were and how much they appreciated everyone. Although I protested, I was volunteered to also give a small speech. Since only 3 people in the room of over 50 understand English, I was forced to do my best to explain my many emotions and sentiments in Spanish. By the end, I realized that I need to write and translate a speech before I leave so that I can truly explain to these people just how much they mean to me and how much I will miss them. The people I work with have become like family to me when I came here with neither friends nor family. They have helped me have such a wonderful experience and shown me a very different part of the world in the best way. With only 7 weeks left of classes, I’m seeing more and more how much I truly appreciate them.

After lunch, several of us went over to Miguel’s house to continue the celebration. I’d like to take a moment to mention that if I could change one thing about Chile, it would be the amount of people that chain-smoke cigarettes. It is the most awful smell and doesn’t come out of your clothes no matter what you do. Anyways, we all hung out talked for a few hours and then I headed to Ana’s to celebrate Luisa’s birthday. We had such a fun night and all of the people I got to meet from the other school were very nice. Finally getting to sleep around 5am, I was very much looking forward to sleeping in the next day.

5.21.11
The day the world was supposed to end but didn’t....ya, the guy who claimed that the Apocalypse was set to be May 21st definitely stirred things up a bit. Thankfully it ended up being a great opportunity to tell people about the truth stated in the Bible about how no one knows when Christ will come back.

Well, to start the day off, I woke up about 2:30 and enjoyed a nice meal with Ana and her roommate. It’s funny how much of my life is currently conducted in Spanglish. Then I went over to Miguel’s to watch a movie that was long over due...The King’s Speech. I absolutely loved it and had a great time hanging out. That night, he had some friends over and I had a blast communicating once again in Spanglish. I find it interesting how many Chileans that I’ve met really do want to learn and speak English, yet have a very hard time getting over their fears of embarrassment. Pretty quickly though, I was having a half Spanish half English conversation as we helped each other along in using a foreign language.

5.22.11
I woke up this morning to a text from my friend Cesar that his wife had given birth to their new baby boy. I’m so excited for them since this is their first child. Hopefully I’ll get to see photos on Wednesday at our English teachers meeting. Today I am spending most of my day relaxing as it looks to be a busy week and next weekend will be spent celebrating my birthday in Santiago with some great friends. I promise I’ll try to be better about keeping my blog updated more often. Thanks for your patience!

7 weeks left of classes
2 weeks of camp
1 week celebrating with volunteers in Santiago
1 week in Peru with parents
8.6.11=Home in California!