Ok its no secret, I’ve been a little floja (lazy) when it
comes to the whole blogging thing lately. Its not that I don’t want you guys to
know what’s going on but life here has settled down quite a bit. The things
that I would write about al principio (at first) are no longer a big deal. So
its hard for me to a) see a point in writing about ordinary life b) find the
motivation/time to write and c) muster up the snarkiness required to make
anything that I write entertaining. So there you have it, my formal apology for
being a study abroad bum.
So lets catch up on some more interesting highlights of my
life in the past few weeks.
Santiago:
Ok so I wrote about the ramadas at Fiestas Patrias but I
didn’t tell the whole story. I also went to Santiago with my Chilean family so
we could visit my host sister Milenka, her husband Marco, and their daughter
Maisa. We stayed for 3 days in what I called “Spanish Land” because I only
spoke in Spanish for 3 whole days. It was both exhausting and rewarding. I also
discovered in “Spanish Land” that my Spanish vastly improves after drinking a
terremoto. Who would have thought?
Anyways, the big story from Santiago? A unique run in with
one of the nicest men I have ever met:
So I’m at the rodeo. (where the cowboys don’t use lassos to
stop their bull, they instead run the chest of their horse into the bull and
run it into a wall. From what I saw the goal is to have the bull off the
ground, completely stopped between your horse and the wall of the arena. Lets
just say the PETA people would have had a field day at this event)
This poor little guy's face is clearly crying out for help
So I’m at the more violent than necessary rodeo, looking at
the stalls where they sell souvenirs.
I finally spot the item I want. It has been a long search but my journey
has finally come to an end. “Cuanto cuesta?” (how much does this cost?) “mil quienientos” (the equivalent to 3
US dollars) “ok” and I start to walk away. “de donde eres?” (where are you
from?) “Los Estados Unidos, obvio ” (The United States, obviously, pointing at
my blond hair). And so the conversation continues. He aske me about my studies,
how long I’m going to be here. I say that I’m super sad to leave so he reaches
down and grabs a keychain off of the table and says “un regalito” meaning, a
little gift for you. “en serio?” (seriously?!) and he tells me yes, of course,
so you can remember your first Chilean rodeo and your time in Santiago. I give
him a big time thank you and mentally decide to buy the trinket that isn’t
actually worth mil quinientos just because this man is so stinking sweet. But
it doesn’t stop there folks. By the end of this interaction I have a glass of
chicha from the land of Pablo Neruda, a sombrero which has been slapped on my
head, and a mata, a Chilean cowboy poncho on one shoulder. My mom is taking
pictures. I am the only gringa in the entire place (as usual). People are
beginning to stare.
And this my friends, is the result:
Yes, I look absolutely ridiculous. But yes, I am enjoying it oh so much
The rest of my time there was pretty standard. A lot of being lost in conversation because all 5 people would be talking in warp speed at the dinner table. A lot of attempting and failing to communicate very basic ideas. And a lot of learning about Chilean conversations work. Overall I would call this day a success.
And here's some pictures of my host niece because she's just so darn cute:
Maisa y mi mama Chilena
Kayaking:
Lets start off by saying that this has been on my Chile bucket list since I got here. So getting to do this (and for only $6USD) totally made my trip. I went with 2 other gringos and 7 Chileans and a Peruvian. It was an amazingly fun time even though I forgot a spare change of dry clothes...I was completely freezing my little buns off but like I said, fue vale la pena (it was worth it). I was with 3 guys, Scott, Nelson, and Oscar who have a wrap for doing stupid and crazy things while together... so we or may not have had security called on us.
The 3 crazies all surf so they were wearing wetsuits which means they spent half of their time in the water, not in their kayaks. They kept tipping each other out, trying to stand up in their kayaks, and splashing the rest of us. And when we got back they felt the need to jump off the pier multiple times (enter security). But the moral of the story is that we got the pictures, the boys got to be crazy, and we all got a good laugh out of it. My friend Deanna and I plan to return when it heats up and jump off the pier too ; )
Me and my girl Deanna
Soaking wet. Thanks guys
The whole gang
After kayaking:
A group of us went back to Deanna's house. Deanna is a Chilean Gringa. She has lived in Chile since she was 4 because her parents are missionaries (meaning she is fluent in both english and Chilean spanish). So her family (2 parents and 2 siblings) are one of the greatest discoveries I have made here. Their house just feels like home and I already call her mom my mama. We had great conversation with about 11 of us around a huge table complete with ham and cheese sandwiches, tea, brownies, and a never ending supply of bread. It was great! And what made this night even better is that we taught my friend Oscar the phrase "dang girl!" So he says it all the time now. Its pretty hilarious.