My First Days At Home

                                   WARNING: I`m typing on a wiredo Chileano keyboard right
                                     now so my grammar and spelling are going to be a little off

Can I just start by saying that I am so blessed to have the family that I do? They are incredible! My big Brother Mauro is my saving grace. He speaks pretty good english and we decided that I will help him with his english and he will help me with my spanish. My madre, Ketty doesn´t have much patience for my lack of spanish but she makes my food and makes my bed ( What????!!!!! ) She`s only around at meal times and as soon as she`s done eating she dissapears and cleans while Mauro and I talk. Oh, and did I mention that they are Protestants?? It`s the best! Last night me and Mauro talked from 8 until midnight about religion (like calvinism vs. arminianism and missions and theology) and the meaning of our last names and where our parents are from. Oh and we spent a good while telling each other words that are difficult to pronounce and teachign the other to say the word correctly. Lets just say that my new favorite chileno phrase is ``esta bastante bien`` (its close enough). We already have plans to watch Gladiator and Troy and all those kinds of movies is spanish with english subtitles.I have never had so much fun learning in my whole life!  This morning I taught Mauro what a Lisa Special is. Why would we be talking about this at breakfast? Because they eat hot ham and cheese or cold ham and cheese sandwiches for breakfast! Its super strange but I`m learning to roll with it.

Lets review what I have eaten so far:
*Comida (dinner) was thick slices of bread with smeared avocado on on (I`m talking a half inch of avocado) with a heaping shake of salt on top. Then we had the most amazing cake I have ever had in my entire life. It was vanilla cake with a vanilla cream inside and a chocolate top. HOLY COW! Oh yeah, and how could I forget the tea? (they drink tea all the time!!)
*Desayuno (breakfast) was a ham and cheese sandwich (they put butter on their ham and cheese and I would also liek to point out that this was my first ham and cheese ever!) with chocolate cereal and tea of course
*Almuerzo (lunch) was carne (meat) and rice and ensalada (Mom I would like to point out at this time that I am not the only one who thinks a salad should simply be iceberg lettuce! They literally have chopped lettuce and a slice of lemon or little tomatoes or some olives. No salad dressing) I also had my first orange ever and some jello. I loved the jello
*Once (late afternoon snack) by this point I was actually craving tea! So I had a nice little break with tea and some music from home. (I was really stressed and wanted to give up on my spanish at about this time so I really needed the boost)
*Comida anoche (last night) was the same as my lunch with limon jello
*Desayuno today was the same as yesterday only Mauro ate with me and offered me some leftover cake from teh other night. I looke at him like he was crazy and said for breakfast?! and he just shrugged at me and put it back in the fridge.

Its hillarious how they do their meals here. I swear that all they eat is carbs. I think I alone have already eaten at least 2 loaves of bread. And although my mom makes my bed I make sure to do my own dishes. The first night I was here we all washed the dishes together. It was easily the best experience I`ve had becasue it has been one of the few things here that I actually know how to do properly. And naturally, I feel most comfortable in the kitchen.

But never the less I love my family and going home actually feels like going home. I just love it! I will take pictures later and post them. I haven´t even had enough time to unpack so the pictures wil have to wait.