A lot has happened since the last time that I blogged! Life is so great here; the lifestyle is definitely different from my life in the United States, but I am savoring every moment and absorbing everything that makes up the Chilean Culture as much as I can while I am in this incredible country. In just a few days I will officially have been in Chile for 2 months. Time is already passing by way too fast. I feel like just yesterday I was arriving in the airport, meeting my host family for the first time, and taking pictures of everything possible. Actually, yesterday I was taking pictures of everything in possible. All of my exchange friends and I went up to Santiago (the capital of Chile) and went to the Zoo. We took a Public bus (Micro) up to Santiago and there were no seats left so the 3 of us "newbies" had to stand during the drive up to the city, which was fine! Then we met up with our "Oldie" (She has been here for about 8 months because she is from New Zealand!) From there, we took a Subway to meet with our other friends who live in San Bernardo and went to the Zoo. But at the last minute a few people decided they were going to the mall instead, so we split in half. Today my Rotary Club had an event in the Talagante Plaza rewarding students for outstanding behavior, I believe. A 3 person band also played and they were fantastic! School has been amazing. I absolutely love my school in Chile, the students are so friendly and genuine and everyone is willing to help whenever I need! My teachers are so sweet and always try to help me understand more when they can. A few weeks ago, my school had a week called "Alianzas" which was basically a week of competitions between classes, we had to choreograph/practice group dances and then perform them. For example, we had "Dancing girls" and "Dancing boys" so all the the girls in one grade would do a dance, and all of the boys in one grade would do a dance. At the end we did a dance with my entire grade (which is only about 100 people). We also had competitions between sports, and at the end of Alianzas week we had "Dia de la Chilenidad" where each grade would set a table with all traditional food and place settings traditional to Chile and then would be grade by how well it looks and what food they had. Someone brought a chicken in my grade, and it laid an egg or two. The grade above me (cuarto medio) brought a lamb which was adorable. People were barbecuing on a mini grill and somebody started a mini bon-fire. It was the best. At the end of this short day there was a Cueca competition. The Cueca is the national dance of Chilean and it is so entertaining to watch! I really admire all of the Chileans who take so much pride in their country, and take the time to master the Cueca! I love how everyone here knows how to have fun while and respecting Chile and honor the traditions! The next week I had no school!
September 18th is Chile's Independence day! My family and I went to Algarrobo, a beautiful beach, and stayed in their beach house the entire week. It was absolutely breathtaking and so much fun. It was exactly like a Washington beach, but with sand instead of rocks/pebbles. Everyday that week we spent time with family, friends, ate huge barbecues and celebrated the freedom of our country. At night we went to a huge set-up like a fair, minus the rides. There were huge tents and inside would be fun games and restaurants with loud music and dancing! Also while I was in Algarrobo I visited the World's Largest Swimming Pool which was absolutely beautiful. While the sun set, it looked like the pool was actually the ocean.
The other day I finally received my Chilean ID card: making me feel very citizen-like. There have been about 4 earthquakes since I have been here. The most recent earthquake was last week at 6:30 AM on a school day but I slept right through it. My family was so amazed I didn't wake up because it was rather big. I have slept through all of the other earthquakes, also. What can I say? Exchange students love their sleep, I just might love it a little too much. Hoping all is well in the US, un besito!
