The Doctor & Other Note Worthy Events

So I have been slowly dying of a cough and runny nose for the past 3 weeks. But 2 days ago one of our lovely ISA staffers Lorna, who is a great friend and has kinda of been like a big sister for me since I arrived, asked if she could make me a doctors appointment. PRAISE JESUS! So not only did I not have to try to make myself an appointment over the phone in spanish (the most terrifying thought ever), but Lorna accompanied me to my appointment as well. When she told me she was coming with me I almost cried, I was so relieved. But rather than making a fool of myself I just gave her an incredibly long hug. She laughed at me but I think she got the point: I DID NOT WANT TO GO BY MYSELF!!!! 
So the doctor's office looks normal, she said it was a clinic so I wasn't expecting much, but it reminded me of our doctor's offices back home: one big building with multiple floors and about 8 doctor's offices on each floor. But thats where the normal-ness ends...
   -Lorna was told that I could use a credit card. Wrong, using my credit card at the ATM in the lobby does not count you crazy receptionists
   -I filled out 0 paperwork before I saw the doctor. None. They asked for a number off of my Chilean ID, took my money, and we sat down
   -You know how I said everyone here greets with a kiss on the cheek? The doctor still does that! Even though he is treating sick people all day! Call me crazy but I thought all doctors were educated about the idea that contact spreads germs??
   -The doctor only asked my DOB, where I was from, if I have any allergies to medicines, and what was wrong with me. No prior illness questions, no height, weight, what medications I'm currently on...
    -And then he proceeded to take the information that I gave him and write it on a note card. Not on an official paper on a clip board thingy, not in the computer, on a stinking flash card. 
    -So he takes my temperature... with an old school glass thermometer (which I was instructed to place under my armpit) and when he was finished with it he used soap (not rubbing alcohol or something official and doctor-like) to wash the thing and sets it back down on the edge of the sink for the next person to use. I have officially shared armpit juice with at least 400 other people. yum. 
   -The man nonchalantly tells me I have bronquitis (bronchitis!!) and a sinus infection, writes me a prescription for 3 medications and sends me on my way. He didn't tell me to rest a ton, drink lots of fluids, not to share my drinks with anyone. Nothing. 
I never fully appreciated Dr. Eaton (my pediatrician from back home) until now. He always asked me too many questions because he was genuinely concerned, cleaned everything with rubbing alcohol, and apologized for the stethoscope being cold. Some things here will just never be like home.
But with that being said, the stuff my Chilean doctor gave me is working! My runny nose (mi nariz con agua) has stopped being so runny, I can notice a little less pressure in my chest, and I think just knowing that I'm going to get better for sure has just given me an energy boost. 

Other Noteworthy Events: 

Erin, Lindsay, Scott, and myself took a little adventure to Jardin Botanica de Vina del Mar (botanical gardens of Vina). Scott's mom had said that because its winter most of the plants were probably going to be dead...

If this is what dead plants look like I can't wait to come back in the summer!

Aren't we just so cute?!

Does this not look like the scene in Pride & Prejudice where Darcy tells Elizabeth that he loves her?? Us ladies decided that we would start dating here in Chile solely in the hopes that we might get brought here for a romantic picnic. Jajaja 

So we wandered around, ignored signs that told us not to hike in certain places, and overall had a very exhausting but very enjoyable afternoon.


We alsohad an excursion last weekend. I barely pulled myself out of bed for it but I'm sure glad I did. 
Pomaire: This quaint little artisan village was what I was expecting all of Chile to look like. So I was really glad when we pulled up that it was simple, brightly colored, and welcoming (unlike the skyscrapers and smog of Santiago). This little place made me feel like I was home because it matched up to some of the few expectations I had for this trip. Life was great! 

I had the best cheese empanada that I've had since I've been here 

I saw the biggest empanada of my life (that thing weighs a KILO!)

          This pic about sums up the town: so precious 

          Hung out with my good friend Shea (Cheesecake) all day

And the The Cough happened...
Here I was just walking down the street and I was violently attacked by a cough. This was not just any cough, mind you, it was a monster. It was epic. It was starting to catch people's attention. I'm leaning up against a tree in the middle of the sidewalk coughing a lung out, a street performing clown is advising me to put my hands above my head, Shea has literally run to go buy me some water, and from around the corner comes this tiny Chilean woman, running at me with a 2 liter of Coke and a plastic cup, pouring as she is running to me. People are now full on staring at me as I am "dying" up against this tree. I take the Coke. I down the Coke. My cough reduces its fury. I am EMBARRASSED. I asked the woman how much the Coke cost her (this is obviously a town with a low average income so I felt guilty just drinking her Coke) she says not to worry about it. I try to explain that I have no idea where the heck that cough just came from as I have 3 different Chilean woman ushering me onto a chair asking if I'm ok. If I wasn't going to die from the cough the embarrassment was going to try and finish me off. 
Moral of the story: I am a firm believer that Coke gives people cancer. That darn stuff kills people! But in an emergency, Coke just might save your life. Always say yes to the Chilean woman with the Coke. 

Now that my near death experience was over it was time to visit the final Pablo Neruda house. This house in Isla Negra was easily my favorite of them all. 

                       

   This view...need I say more?

But I wouldn't be Kait Beseda if I didn't say more, so here's some more pictures:

This house was just everything that a beach house should be. Quaint and eccentric, with a great view, lots of colorful glass bottles, and a ton of random alcoves and rooms. It was love!

In conclusion,
To those of you who are wondering if I'm tired of this place: no way! Everyday is an adventure and a struggle. I have never had to push myself so far out of my comfort zone and most days I have actually enjoyed it. So much so that the boundaries of my comfort zone have expanded. I think this experience is going to help me grow up a lot, and most importantly learn how to "tranquila"(relax, chill out, don't sweat it). It been a hard thing to try to do but in the end I think not being so hard on myself is going to be a good lesson to learn. Life, and this trip in particular, are too short to spend letting the little things drive me crazy. So when I say "una dia" when its supposed to be "un dia", I'll get over it... and so will the Chileans. 
Besitos, 
Kait

Little Tid-Bits

I don't have class today and we were supposed to go hiking but our plans were changed (this seems to happen here a lot, this was the third time this week that my plans have been changed. I'm learning to roll with it...). So with my free day I thought I would take the time to share some random but interesting things I have seen and experienced here. 

#1

You know how I said my mom does everything for me? This is my breakfast. EVERYDAY. She sets up my table and chair, pours my cereal, heats up some water for tea, and makes me my breakfast sandwich (which I have begun to crave). EVERYDAY. 

Also, mom, please note how narrow the kitchen is. This place takes "galley kitchens" to a new level. 

#2  (I just couldn't help myself) 

Correct me if I'm wrong but the conspiracy theorists were right, Elvis didn't die, he just had a sex change and moved to Chile. 

#3

I appreciate that The US is incredibly capitalist and can never take a moment to catch their breath but I'm beginning to think we take it a bit too far. Wednesday was a nation holiday to celebrate The Virgin Mary. So we didn't have school. The Virgin Mary? For real?! We would never get away with something like that back home. I think these people just want an excuse to skip work. And I don't have a problem with it. Not a bit. 

#4 

The profs here are super chill. We were discussing Chilean holidays in class yesterday with Soraya (my reading and writing prof) and she says, if you need an extended holiday so you can travel just tell your professor. If enough students are going to be missing the class your prof will move the class and push back all of the assignments that are due. SERIOUSLY??? I wish one of the CCU business profs had overheard that, any one of them would have fainted at the thought of changing their schedule. And for that very reason Soraya won't give us a syllabus. She says that holidays are too frequent, illness spreads like wildfire with exchange students, and she never knows how fast or slow her international students are going to learn. So everything is flexible and just depends on how everyone is feeling about the assignments. I'm in heaven!!

#5

One of the reasons the profs are so chill is because of timing here. Its a big joke that the country runs on Tiempo Chileano (chilean time). I would compare this to Beseda timing. You have to tell everyone in our family to arrive a half hour early or they will show up late. The same thing goes here. Youth group on Fridays starts at 7:00 but things don't really get started until 7:30 to allow for all of the people that will come late. It drives me CRAZY!!! I am by no means on time to anything in the states, but like everything here, they take being late to an extreme. Its perfectly normal to have students walking into class 15 and 30 minutes late. ?????!!! What? I can't even imagine! If I was going to be that late for class I wouldn't even bother showing up. But not here, fashionably late in Chile means arriving early. 

#6 

Also important to note: We aren't supposed to eat in class. I thought I was going to fall out of my chair the first time I heard it! I ALWAYS eat in class. It helps me stay awake and I'm a snacker. I don't eat huge means, I eat a little bit at a time all day long. Not here. Not in class. I am left to starve to death as I take notes and strain my poor little brain. Its a tragedy. (but lets be honest, I still sneak a few bites of food here and there when my profs turn around to write on the board. A girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do to survive lol) 

#7 

I am currently planning 2 trips: One to Mendoza, Argentina, and one to The Atacama Desert in northern Chile. I AM SO EXCITED!!! The Mendoza trip will be with my friend David in the middle of September. I'm hoping we might get another person to go with us but it's not super important. We are going to spend a long weekend there and explore, do a wine tour, and experience all that is Argentina (which means we will be eating BEEF!!!! ...hopefully) This trip is going to be more of a fly by the seat of our pants trip because its so short. I don't have any great expectations for this trip other than having fun. But The Atacama is a different story. David is also going with me on this trip and we are going to be there for about 11 days if transportation works out right. We want to stay in hostels for a couple nights but we really really really want to go camping. Theres a place called Valle de la Luna which has no light pollution so the stars are supposed to be AMAZING. We are going to camp there. No exceptions, its happening. I can't wait!!!

I snagged this off of Google images. The Atacama is going to be beautiful!

#8

I fought a very tough moral battle this afternoon: When is a leg hair considered alive? When it has been on your leg for a month? When that month has been long enough for said leg hairs to learn a foreign language? When you have had enough adventures with that leg hair to have made a strong bond? It was hard for me to finally shave for the first time since I've been here (because my shower is too small to make leg shaving maneuvering

possible) but after staring at the ugly little guys for 10 minutes I was decidedly Pro Choice Leg Shaving. I know I should be ashamed with myself but I just couldn't take it anymore. 

Thats all I've got for now but I will keep you posted on the next round of adventures that come my way.

Dia Triste (Sad Day)

The following is an assignment I had to do for my spanish reading and writing class. It is a half page about myself in Spanish. It took me an HOUR to do and I can guarantee that there are enough grammatical errors to make a spanish speaking reader ill. Sad day Kait, sad day. 

           Me llamo es Kait Beseda. Me apellido es de La Republica Checa. Beseda es un folklore baile nacional de Checa. Mi  familia extendida es grande y fuert. Nos emcanta a comer y contar historias cuando estamos juntos. Mi familia inmediata es yo, mi hermano, Jacob, mi madre, Jill, y mi padre, Brian. Y no puedo olvidar mi perro, Abby. Ella es una importante parte de mi familia. Vivemos en St. Louis, Missouri en Los Estados Unidos. Yo amo mi familia por que nosotros tener muchos divertidos juntos. Nosotros siempre vemos películas cómicas en los noches.

Yo voy a una universidad en Denver, Colorado. Mi universidad es Cristiano entonces yo tengo muchas clases sobre Dio, Jesús, y la Biblia. Me grado es de communicaciones pero yo no se qual me gustaria con lo. Mi solamente deseo en mi vida es a viajar el mundo y intentar cosas nuevas. Entonces, yo no pienso que yo poder solamente un trabajo, me gustaria tengo muchos trabajos en diferente partes del mundo. Mi madre siempre decie que ella hace un monstruo de viajar porque es todo yo quiero hago.

Cuando yo estoy no viajar me gusta tener tiempo can mi amigos. Juntos nos gusta ir de excursion, ir a las montanas, jugar en la nieva, ver la programa Saturday Night Live, hablar sobre el futuro y Dio, y reir mucho. Sin mi amigos estoy perdido. Nostros hacer todos juntos y nos amamos muchos. Mi veces favoritos can mi amigas esta cuando nosotros sentarse en la sofa en el noche. 

Lets translate this frustratingly simple half page shall we?

My name is Kait Beseda. My last name is from the Czech Republic. Beseda is the name of a national folk dance of Czech. My extended family is big and loud. We love to eat and tell stories when we are together. My immediate family is my brother Jacob, my mom, Jill, and my dad, Brian. And I can't forget my dog, Abby. She is an important part of the family. I live in STL Missouri, in The US. I love my family because we have fun together. We always watch funny movies together in the evening.

I got to a university in Denver, CO. My university is Christian so we have many classes about God, Jesus and the Bible. My degree is communications but I don't know what I want to do with it. My sole desire in life is to travel the world and try new things. So I don't think I can have only one job, I would like to have many jobs in different parts of the world.  My mom always says that she made a traveling monster because that is all I want to do. 

When I am not traveling I like to spend time with my friends. Together we like to hike, go to the mountains, play in the snow, watch SNL, talk about the future and God, and laugh a lot. I am lost without my friends. We do everything together and we love each other very much. My favorite times with my girl friends is when we sit on the couch together at night. 

Keep in mind that this translation is not exact, this is merely what I was trying to say and what I think (to my knowledge) is written in spanish. My lovely mother has kept an entire box of my homework and projects from elementary school. This half sheet belongs in that box with the many papers inside that read something like this: "What is your favorite food? __makaronee and ches__"  "What is your favorite animal? __I lik elifants__"  This sad excuse for a description will actually translate at the same degree as my elementary school papers: they are understandable but mostly just amusing 

I felt the need to share my low level of spanish skills with those of you who keep insisting that my spanish is good. Incorrecto, señor. Mi espanol esta muy muy malo. 

So Much To Say, So Little Time

I haven't blogged in quite some time. Sorry, but life has been crazy and the internet has been far crazier (worse than CCU internet even. I didn't think it was possible but it is indeed). 

What you have missed: 
Sand boarding
My first visit to the girl's orphanage
Snowboarding at Valle Nevado
Artisenia Fair with Erin

Theres a lot to cover so I'm going to let some pictures do most of the talking. 

Sand Boarding: The sand was wet, we couldn't slide fast, I was frustrated just a tiny bit, but Con Con is close and the boards were cheap so I will return for a better day. 

                Maggs, me, Colin, Shelby, and Delisha (DeDe)

The view was amazing and the company I had was even better : )

Girls Home: I don't have any pictures from the orphanage but that place was incredibly sad. The girls are ages 6-13, and the older girls already have facial piercings (eyebrows and lip).  I took this to mean that the rules were lax and the girls probably don't have a good sense of what it is to have a mother that takes the time to give you boundaries out of loving concern. As sad as it was the piercing were such a relief because they got a kick out of the piercings I have in my ear. It definitely broke the ice for me so I suppose that was the silver lining. One of the new girls (she had arrived that day) is epileptic and had already had a seizure since she arrived. I can't blame her poor little body, the building itself and the amount of girls is overwhelming. The girls all call you Tia (aunt) and are constantly begging for your attention. The "playground" was a standard set of monkey bars and slide but the courtyard was made of concrete tiles, not mulch or anything soft in case the girls fall. I was a nervous wreck the whole time because 6 year old girls were just dangling by their legs above this concrete, laughing and swinging around without any awareness of the other girls around them. I guess was the nanny in me that made me worry. Who knows. But I do know that a facility like this would never pass a safety inspection in The States. 

Valle Nevado: Our transportation was top notch (and it felt good to figure out the busses without any problems. I'm starting to understand public transportation and city life), the snow wasn't too bad, snowboarding with my friend Seth was super chill, the view was breathtaking (and so much different than The Rockies), and I met the sweetest old man who invited me to come visit him and his family in Santiago. Moral of the story: always stop to help the guy that is laying flat on his back with his skis looking a mess because you never know which of these guys is going to love Jesus and invite you to his church and practically invite you into the family. Alejandro was so sweet, spoke good english, and works for HP (I was totally networking dad!!). He was so floored by the fact that I helped him get to his feet and find his family that I'm pretty sure he would have offered me a job on the spot lol. I love Chilean hospitality and I fully intend to visit him and his church!! 
                                                         

                       All I have to say is: !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Artisenia Fair: Me and Erin wanted to hang out so I hopped a bus to her place for the whopping price of 65 cents. Whew! This place is pricey! And we sauntered to the beach, bought awesome jewelry, bartered with the venders, and watched the sun set while sitting in the sand. Overall I would say our outing in Erin's part of town was a success. 

                                                   The beach at Vina 

                                      Scrat! Chileans LOVE Ice Age

                                  ...and Erin loves bears?

I love this life. I love this place. I love that God gave me such a great friend to spend this time with. So Stinking Blessed. 

Arabian Food and American Slang

Last night I went out with Mauro to central Vina. I asked him what we were doing and I heard “going to a library so we can practice our English and Spanish, getting dinner, and then buying some sweets”. It turns out we were buying a Spanish/English Bible for me, then getting food and sweets. Oh well, I got 2 out of 3 so I would call that a success. Yo entiendo mas espanol cada dia!! (I understand more Spanish every day).  This is sad but the way I have been gauging my progress is by watching the news and seeing how much I can understand. The first few days las noticias were merely Chileanos moving their mouths with a string of strange sounds coming out. At this point I can understand basic ideas of the stories and can separate individual words that are said. I have never been so excited to not fully understand something in my whole life because I can at least understand some of it!

Buying my Bible wasn’t too exciting. We went to 2 Christian book stores, finally found a Bible that I thought looked good, and bought it. The thing is really big because it has two languages but I’m really excited to have it for church so I can understand the sermons better. So far it has been me understanding a few words per sermon (because they talk a mile a minute), then I roughly translate the verses that are put on the screen, and I attempt to connect the dots to come up with a theme for the service. It has been a little frustrating but I can honestly say I have never paid such close attention to the words being said in a church before, whether I understand the words or not.

Mauro had previously told me about his love of Arabian food, that there are only 2 true Arabian restaurants in Vina, and that he has spent about 2 years trying to convert the Muslim owner of his favorite of the 2 restaurants. But lets be honest, I kept thinking: he’s in Latin America, why the heck would he be eating Arabian food?! I now understand why, that stuff is AMAZING! For me to say this is a big big deal. For me to even consider eating at an Arabian restaurant would have been a big deal. But this place has changed me. I was actually hoping before we left that he would take me to an Arabian place and I was jumping for joy (on the inside) when we approached the door. So we sit down, he moves his chair so he is sitting right next to me at a two person table (awkward!) and we order limon sodas (bless my soul this soda is sooo good!). Mauro ordered what I would consider and appetizer plate with a bunch of different foods in small portions so I can try everything and decide which is my favorite.

The food that arrives is a little frightening. The first plate was a bunch of I had no idea what, wrapped in various vegetables. Then a plate with some kind of pita/tortilla arrives with a small dish of “salsa” which is just the Chilean word for sauce. And finally there’s a plate of chopped chicken and beef (I think) that could be seen at the front of the restaurant cooking on a rotating spit (this wasn’t scary, this was a relief because it was identifiable). I started by dipping some of my pita thing into the salsa which Mauro explained to me is yogurt, lemon juice, some type of oil and something else that I couldn’t translate into English. I was pleasantly surprised and went back for a second dip. This salsa ended up going on every bite of anything that I tried because it was so dang good. Mauro said that we can cook Arabian food together one night so I can learn how to make it YAY!!! Moral of the story: don’t eat kabobs, they’re tough, dry and overall nothing to write to mom about. But I do recommend the chopped carne and what turned to be rice and meat inside any of the vegetables. The one that was wrapped in cabbage leaves was my favorite and I also really enjoyed one that was wrapped in some paper thin mystery vegetable leaf. The zucchini (which they call “Italian vegetable” in English!!) and eggplant were only so-so but I could have eaten an entire meal of them and survived.

American Slang:

Our conversation during dinner was awesome. I finally feel comfortable enough to just speak in Spanish and not be afraid to make a mistake or accidentally say something offensive or embarrassing. This helps a lot and the fact that Mauro speaks some English helps a lot so I can end up speaking spanglish if needed. He said that if he could he would eat nothing but meat at every meal and this is when I knew that we are going to be really good friends. His dad is Argentenian and he said he loves to eat the BBQ there when he visits. I then bragged about dad’s BBQ and told him that during the summer we have it about 3 times a week. I though he was going to fall out of his chair! He looked at me for a while to make sure that I wasn’t joking and then replied in English oh so dramatically “that would be heaven!” I laughed so hard that I was getting strange looks from other people there, but lets be honest, that’s nothing new for me at this point in my journey.

I told him that its strange for me to be stared at all the time because I look so normal in the US. The said that it isn’t a bad thing, its just that I have blond hair. A lot of girls here try to dye their hair blond so when I told him that girls in the US dye their hair brunette he was shocked and said that they shouldn’t do that. I just laughed again because the saying is true, you always want what you can’t have.

Next he asked me what the word “freak” means because he saw it on the movie Jackass. Thanks Stevo, now I have to try to explain this word that at first to me sounded like “frick” when he said it. So here I am trying to explain that frick is like “oh shucks” or “oh no”. Wrong Kait, so wrong. Then the word was finally pronounced correctly and came out “freak”. I was relieved to learn that I was trying to explain the wrong word and could now  explain a word that I knew how to. I explained that it’s a strange person and then we moved on to the next word: dessert. “Kait what’s the word for postre in English?” “Its dessert.” So after 30 seconds of trying and failing to pronounce this word correctly we finally got it bastante bien (good enough). “This word is similar to desert, no?” “Yes but they are spelled differently” (I learned the spanish alphabet the other day so I showed off my new skills and spelled them each for him. Whoo hoo!) I mentioned earlier that the meat was being cooked at the front of the restaurant but I failed to mention that it made the whole restaurant like an oven. It was HOT in this place. So Mauro says “this place is a desert!” I realize that this isn’t funny to you because you weren’t there but having just taught him what desert meant and then this outburst after 30 minutes of him continually mentioning how hot it was inside was just too perfect.

(This is a typical Kait-Mauro conversation. Lots of comparing culture and lifestyle, learning new vocabulary, trying to pronounce and use the new word, and tons of laughing.)

Dad this pic is specifically for you: This is me and Mauro on our balcony. 

Overall the night was a success and I really hope I can go back for more Arabian food eventually

La Cultura

At my (american) mamma`s request I am going to write about the culture here in Chile. (once again I appologize for my typing, im using the wonky chileano keyboard again)

Hmmm.... where to begin?

Lets start with the families. They say that family here is very important. Yet when the family members are at home the only thing they do together is eat. before and after dinner everyone is in their own room doing their own thing. to me this does not scream that chile has a family oriented culture. but heres the thing: its normal for single children to live with their parents until they get married. so they could be 35, unmarried, and still living with their family. the parents make no effort to kick their kids out, they insist that they stay. so now when i think family oriented, i think of children who are dependent on their parents. i would die! The moms are also very 50s. they do EVERYTHING for everyone. like my mom making my bed, changing my sheets, making me tea, setting out all of my food for breakfast, doing all of the laundry, doing all of the cleaning, and of course, they nag you about not wearing enough clothes when you leave the house. its crazy and i feel really guilty that my madre does everything for me but when i tell her i can do something (like no ketty, i can put the sheets on my bed) she shoos me away so she can do it herself. oh well, i just tell her thank you and move on, theres no use fighting with a determined woman whether you know the language to argue or not.

Now lets talk about the men here. they stare at everyone and it isnt unusual. the women here are used to it so they just ignore the cat calls and keep walking. And they have a word here for male creepers: hotes. my RD reccomended that when we go dancing we watch the chilean women at the club to see which men they dance with. if a particular man is continually turned down when he asks a woman to dance you know that he is a hote. its funny because in the states i know what a creeper looks like, its incredibly obvious to me. but here its hard for us gringas to spot hotes.

Scheduling: if given the opportunity (like on saturdays, sundays, and any other day off) all of the people here sleep in. Last saturday i got up around noon and when i walked into the kitchen it looked like my madre had just woken up too. and the earliest sunday church service is at 10 am. but theyres a reason everyone wakes up late, its because they stay up sooo late! the other night my madre was up until 12:30am watchign TV. its pretty bad when your mom stays up later than you do. And after`youth group`on friday we went out to mc donalds (which is a big deal here, the building was 2 stories and it was packed!) and we were there until midnight. And this was considered going home early. on the micro (the bus) all of the peopel were young, scantily dressed, and clearly baracho (drunk). But they were on their way out at midnight, not on their way in. Most kids that go out dont get home until 5-7am. And the young guys on the back of the bus were ROUDY. they kept yelling out common girl`s names trying to get the girls at the front of the bus to turn around and look at them. oh and they were having such a good time with it, they reminded me of all the jerks at high school football games: always in a pack, always incredibly loud, and always looking like a bunch of idiots. anyways, because everyone gets up late and stays up late the meals are pushed back by a few hours each. cena (dinner) isnt until 8-10pm most nights.

hmmm...what else?
the couples here are loco. they are always all over eachother all the time. these people have mastered PDA, in fact, they could teach courses on it or have their own sport in the olympics. the event would be titled How Awkward Can You Make The People Around You Feel? the couples here walk together. and i know that sounds normal, but let me explain: the men will stand behind their woman, wrap their arms around their shoulders and then they walk in sync, still `attached` to eachother. its rather impressive. if i had ever tried this i would have tripped and died, but no, they are pros. 

I don´t know if this is a seasonal thing or if its cultural but i have been here for 2 weeks and have only seen 4 pregnant women the whole time. i feel like everytime i turn a corner in the states someone is preggers. i don´t see too many kids around either but that might be because im only out and about during school hours. who knows, but its definitely strange.

I live in a culture of public transportation. many people have cars but they only have one per family. so my madre takes the car and my brother Mauro and i take the metro or a micro to wherever we need to go. and as much as i hate public transportation in the states, i was pleasently surprised with the system here. You have 4 public transportation options here: theres the metro, which is a train. theres the micros, which are public buses that each run on their own line. theres collectivos, which are shared taxis that run on the same line with the same stops all the time. and theres a standard taxi. i have yet to take a taxi or collectivo but i love the metro. the micro is a bit intimidating for me because some of the drivers will try to take advantage of gringos and charge them extra or they just wont give you back your change. they also drive on comission so they drive like mad from micro stop to micro stop so that they can get as many passangers as possible. depending on the time of day the micros can be super packed or really empty. obviously, i prefer the empty times because the drivers are nicer and you get to sit in the seats. ahhh, but my favorite is the metro. the metro is my best friend here. with my student card it costs roughly 30 cents to ride from Recreo (the stop by my house) to Baròn (the stop at my school). on the metro you dont have to deal with drivers or with turns taken so fast that you almost fall out of your seat. you simply cruise and listen to the sounds of whatever performer is in your car trying to make tips. its wonderful and so easy.  

la comida. Everyone here eats berad. you think you eat bread in the states? wrong sir! you nibble on bread. we EAT bread here. every meal is carbs, carbs, carbs. getting a piece of meat at dinner is a rare treat for me. like yesterday at lunch: i had a pork chop that didnt look very good but i was excited because it was meat. the people here not only have a love affair with bread but with avocados, tomatoes, and salt as well. the families here can take a perfectly healthy meal (like a piece of bread with mashed avocado on it or a plate of sliced tomatoes) and then douse it in salt, making it terrifying to eat. but oh well, its eat or starve so i have learned to eat.

la ropa. i cant decide if i like the clothes here or not. i think im going to have to wait until summer hits so i can make a fully informed decision. but i am whole heartedly in love with the shoes here. all of the women wear boots. high heeled boots, flat boots, shiny boots, short boots, tall boots, boots boots boots. i have been searching and searching for that perfect pair and when i finally found a pair that i loved enough to consider buying but they didnt have my size...but the search will continue. because its winter the clothes are mostly dark. black coats, brown coats, long dark skirts, blue jeans, or dark colored business pants, everything seems serious. ordinarily i would hate this but because i go to school in a more metropolitan area then im used to this is ok. it makes me feel like im living in a big city, very similar to how new yorkers dress in the winter (well at least how they dress in the movies in the winter). but with that being said they also have amazing coats here. unfortunately i dont have to space in my luggage nor the money to buy a new one, so the black one i brought will have to do.

well thats it for now. i can´t think of any other cultural topics to think about and my fingers are starting to cramp up. if you have any suggestions about what to write or have any specific questions about anything let me know and i can talk about it in the next post.

chaopo!