Home Alone

(12/3-12/6) Let me start this post by saying this past week was heavenly. The staff went on a four day team building retreat and Katie went with her parents to Valparisso for four days so guess who got the house to herself? Yes, this girl. I loved it! Ok so back to the other things that happened this week. This week I did so many things with so many people and didn’t give myself a break. Totally worth it though. Monday when I woke up I decided it was going to be my last day of shopping so I set off on a mission. I went to the market by Santa Lucia with a list and cash. It took about 2.5-3 hours but I did it. My list wasn’t long, I just couldn’t find the right things for the people. So I looked and compared and looked some more. I got it done. After that I went home and did laundry and cleaned upstairs. I made sweet tea (because that’s my friend’s favorite drink, not mine) and ordered sushi over the phone all by myself. Success! My good friend Camila came over at about 6 and we hung out and talked for a while. After that we ate our sushi and drank our tea and watched Good Will Hunting. We wanted to watch another movie so Camila looks for movies from Thailand (this is the girl going with Globalscope to Thailand in a couple of weeks.) She found one but while we were waiting for it to load we decided to play a game. We found a Disney Trivial Pursuit game in the closet so we went with that one. Oh, by the way, Camila speaks almost perfect English. So we played and dang if she didn’t beat me. It was fun though! When it was over the movie had kind of loaded so we started watching it. To my surprise it was actually really interesting. I was so into it. When that movie was over it was about 3 am so we started getting ready for bed. Then we ended up talking for another hour, you know girls. I think I went to bed at about 4:30am. The next morning Camila had to go to class so we got up at 10:30am. I actually went back to sleep after she left. I woke up again at like 1 which was good because I was meeting a friend for lunch. Carla got here at about 1:30 and we went to J.Cruz which is a restaurant that specializes in Chorrillana. I had only been there once before but I loved it! So I took Carla and she loved it too. We wrote on the walls (which you’re allowed to do) and talked for a pretty long time. Then we goofed around taking pictures on the walk back to El Oasis. It was awesome.  When we got back we watched a movie. A little later Koke and Abraham came over to hang out. We all played ping pong together and after that we went to the supermarket to get pizza supplies. When we got back we went straight to cooking and by the time they went into the oven they looked delicious! When they were ready we went upstairs and watched White Chicks while we ate our pizza. They left after the movie which was pretty late anyhow. Wednesday when I woke up I went to meet my friend Cynthia for lunch. We had to go close to her work so we ended up eating in the food court of a mall. We both got hamburgers called the Gringa. I loved it, she didn’t…go figure. We talked for a long time. Then she gave me a present which was this awesome photo collage of us. I was so happy! She eventually had to go to work so I went home. When I got home I was determined to clean the house because I wanted to live in a clean house my last week. Half way through my cleaning rant Koke came over and then he helped me which was really nice. After we got done cleaning, we played ping pong for a couple of hours. I love ping pong and not sure if I’ve ever mentioned that. After that we decided to watch a movie called My Boss’s Daughter and eat ice cream. The movie was really stupid but the ice cream was delicious. It’s lucuma and doesn’t exist in the United States. He had to leave right after the movie so I finished up the laundry I had started a couple of days before (whoops) and went to bed. Thursday when I woke up I went to lunch with my friend Diafna. We had to go somewhere close to her school so I ended up eating in another mall food court. It was cool though. Afterwards we walked around the mall just talking. Eventually it was time for her to go to class so we left. When I got back it was already time to meet my friend Nanii for a little afternoon dessert. We went to a pastry shop pretty close by and it was delicious. We both got chocolate mousse cake. Heaven. We talked for a while and then we walked around the nearby shops. When we got back to El Oasis we talked for a while and then decided to play some Nintendo. She beat me in the battles but I creamed her in the actual races. First baby! She had to leave after that so I went with her. I decided to go to the grocery store to grab a little food since I have nothing. After I got back from the grocery store I hung out with Eli and Greg because they were back. I did a little packing test run after that and it didn’t end well. Once that was over I had to do some work for El Oasis because we have a special event on Friday that I’m not going to ruin the surprise of. So I spent the rest of my night working on that. What a great week!

Camila's beautiful face!

I love both of these things

Carla wrote our names with yellow finger nail polish

pizza pizza, mine is on the far right

Cynthia and her Gringa

mountains in the distance at sunset

Weekend of Fun

(11/30-12/2) Well this past weekend was pretty dang awesome. Friday after I woke up I did a little shopping and got some really awesome deals! I couldn’t believe how excited I was, I guess I am my mother’s daughter. When I got back I went shopping with Eli for the last Almorricas. We bought stuff for brownie sundaes because that’s what Claudia wanted and I fully supported the idea. When we got back we started cooking and setting up. Then some girls came over so we talked for a while before the event actually started. Then the event started so we went upstairs and made our own sundaes and talked. Then we watched a youtube movie clip and discussed that. After that we played a game where you asked other people questions. All in all it was really fun. When Almorricas was over, Eli, Katie, and I went to meet Katie’s parents for dinner. They flew in for the week. We went to this really fancy restaurant and I let Eli order for me and she ordered Tar-Tar, raw meat. Thanks Eli. Actually it wasn’t too terribly bad. It was nice thought being able to talk her parents, they were really sweet people. Saturday I woke up early to go to this market to grab a few things. The market is like the cheapest market and I just needed three things. When I got back home I took a little nap because I was still exhausted. When I woke up it was time to meet my friend. We were supposed to meet at 2 but she was an hour late. It’s ok though. We went to Lider first to pick up some stuff to eat then took two buses and walked up a hill about a mile to this park Mahuida. We sat and ate and talked for a while. After that we went to the real destination Rodelbahn. It is basically like a little park that just happens to have a tobogganing course. Yeah I went tobogganing in Santiago, Chile. Pretty awesome! We did two runs. The first run I let Natty go first and she went slow so I had to too. The second run I went first and went fast, so fast that when I got to the end of the course I had enough time to get out of my sled and climb up a bridge to watch her finish. It was an incredible experience. After that we took a bus to Santa Lucia and checked out this art exhibit. Also in the museum was a wedding so we sat and watched the reception and ate and talked for a while. When that was over we walked to a friend’s house for a going away party for Josh. We got there at like 10:20. I stayed like two hours and then was ready to go home because I was tired. Sunday I woke up at 7:45am because El Oasis was in charge of a church service and I had to help. The first service started at 9:30 and the second started at 11:30. I handed out flyers, greeted people, set up communion, passed out communion, collected money, and told people bye. It was a lot of work but it was cool. David gave the sermon and the band played. Afterwards a student (Ruth) invited me to her house for lunch. Of course I went! I’m so glad I did because it was the best meal I’ve had. Plus I got to meet her parents so that was really cool too. We started with artichokes and then ate this wonderful meat, rice, salad, and for dessert strawberries and cream. Dang! After lunch we went to this market in a park and met her sister Pulpa and Natty Meli. They were selling some clothes so we just sat around and talked for a while just hanging out. Occasionally we would get up and go look around and I bought a couple of things. It was pretty fun though! I love just being able to spend time with people without an agenda. We finished up in the park at around 9, then everyone went home and I took a shower and went to bed. It was pretty awesome though! 

woohoo!

incorrect English

me and Natty

CHILE!

My Week of Lasts

(11/26-11/29) Well this was a pretty sad week of lasts. Monday I decided to cook a really difficult dessert that I cooked once in the past but it didn’t have time to set. So I spent about 4 or 5 hours Monday cooking the dessert again giving it plenty of time to solidify. Then I went to our last small group and our last Donce. We ate lasagna and it was pretty good although the sauce tasted a little like ketchup. A student named Israel gave the talk and he talked about how he had cancer when he was younger and how his family prayed everyday and eventually it went away miraculously. It was awesome. I really appreciated his story. Then we ate my awesome dessert called Chocolate Revel Bars. We played a game that was finding a list of items and then you tally up score. We didn’t win but we didn’t lose and it was really fun so a great way to end the year. Tuesday was pretty good. We were supposed to have Almorricas but like an hour before it was supposed to start they switched it to Friday. Because it was cancelled Claudia and I went to Bravissimo together to eat lunch. It ended up being really great because I got to learn a lot about Claudia. When we got back I played some ping-pong with some guys who happened to be in the house. Then I ordered a pizza and Eli and I ate the pizza and watched the Christmas episode of Glee. I spent the rest of my night just kind of relaxing. Wednesday was a great day! My friend Camila, her friend Dany, Claudia, Katie, and I went to Pomaire. It was my second time going and it was awesome. Hardly anyone was there and I got to do some shopping. It was perfect weather and the whole day was just perfect. Dany drove us for free so we didn’t have so ride on a smelly bus. For lunch I ate chicken nuggets and French fries, everyone made fun of me, but I don’t regret it. We shopped for about two hours and it was all around a pretty great experience. When we got back some students were here playing Just Dance, so of course I joined them. We danced for like two hours and then they left. I had some alone time after that and Skyped my parents and then I went to bed. Thursday was bitter sweet. It was my last staff meeting. Then Eli and I went to the grocery store to shop for the last Tertulia. When I got back, Katie and I made a bunch of food and drinks for the very special and last Café a lo Gringo. We made homemade chocolate chip cookies, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, peanut butter and banana sandwiches, just peanut butter sandwiches, lemonade, and sweet tea. Then I made the last batch of brownies for Tertulia. Café a lo Gringo started pretty soon after that. We did a poll the week before to find out what everyone’s favorite game was and we used the three most commonly said answers. They ended up being the name tag forehead game, train wreck, and mafia. It was really fun and a great way to end the year! After that our last Tertulia started. Everything was great, the music, Phil’s talk, the food (pizza), and the very special event that happened after. A student got baptized!! It was so awesome to watch and I am still just so happy for him. I played ping pong with Abraham after that and kicked his butt! That was an awesome feeling! Afterwards a lot of people went to a restaurant to celebrate the end of everything and the exchange students and just to hang out. We stayed a couple of hours and then we all went home. I went to bed after that. What a great week!

me at the last Donce

me in Pomaire

me playing Just Dance with Koke

meet Elvis and Mulan

our feast

baptism!!!

Thanksgiving Lunch and Christmas Dinner

(11/23-11/25) Let me start off by saying it is currently 2:30am on Monday morning/Sunday night. I’m awake because I am waiting on my laundry to finish. It’s been a crazy weekend but I will start with my adventures from Friday. I woke up Friday and went to a grocery store called Jumbo. I was looking for candy canes and cheddar cheese that are not very popular items in Chile, which I found. The store was huge though and really awesome. I guess you could compare it to a Super Target. It was a little expensive but overall a good shopping experience. When I got back we did our Exchange Student Meeting because we missed it on Tuesday. It went well. After that I started making decorations for Saturday which was the day of our Thanksgiving feast, but I’m not there yet. So I made decorations for about four hours or so. I did name tag place settings on the computer and cut out about a thousand little hand turkeys and leaves for a garland and cut out Happy Thanksgiving. After all that was said and done I went to a restaurant for a friend’s birthday party, well actually three friend’s birthday party but I went for Ruth whose actual birthday was Friday. Their birthdays aren’t very far apart so they just combined one party, convenient. So we hung out there about two hours and after that we all went dancing. I was pretty exhausted because I got like 4 or 5 hours of good sleep the night before so Katie, Brent, Liz, and I left at about 1:45-2am and I got home at 2:30am and went to sleep. I woke up at about 10am Saturday morning so I could shower and start cooking for Thanksgiving. I made macaroni and cheese and some brownies. Thanksgiving started at about 2pm and there was a ton of food, including an incredible turkey. It was so awesome and such a great experience. It was a little weird talking in Spanish during dinner but it was still cool. We ate and talked about what we were thankful for and other typical Thanksgiving things. Even after the dinner they downloaded the UGA vs Tech game which was cool, but sad for Tech fans. Then we cleaned everything up. After everything was cleaned I went and took a three hour nap. When I woke up, Liz and I went to our second party of the day. An American girl (Celeste) is leaving to go home Tuesday so it was like her going away party/Christmas party. It was on the roof of her apartment building which was pretty cool. There was a pool and it just felt fancy. I wore my finest attire of pajama pants that were red and had snow and a green shirt. Everyone was in red and green and a lot of people rocked Santa hats. The party started at like 9pm and there was so much food. I made chocolate peppermint cookies and they were awesome. We sat around and talked and ate and just enjoyed each other’s company until about midnight. Then we played the White Elephant gift exchange game where everyone brings like a $5 dollar gift and you steal and unwrap and it’s a bunch of fun. So that lasted about 2 hours. Then some boys decided to jump in the rooftop pool which was pretty funny to watch. Then we danced for a little while. I left around 2:45am with Greg and Eli. I pretty much went straight to bed when I got back. Sunday I woke up at 10am because Katie and I were going to spend the day at Eli’s house (granted we didn’t leave the house until 11:30am.) We had to take the metro about 30minutes and then a bus for another 45minutes. It was awesome though. Her house was so cute and where she lives was so cute. We all made lunch together and just hung out for a while. After we ate we went and bought ice cream which I am always ok with. After we ate ice cream we all pretty much took a nap for about an hour. When we woke up Eli and Jorge (her brother) took us to this hill and we climbed up a little ways and it was beautiful. The sky was so clear and there was so much green. We hung out at the top for a while and then we had to leave. On the way down I managed to fall and scrape my leg, I thought it was hysterical and it didn’t even hurt…until later. When we got back to the house Eli and Katie cooked some stuff and Jorge and I listened to music. I brought up the fact that I needed laundry detergent so Jorge suggested we ride bikes to the store while they cooked. I said ok thinking there would be two bikes. There was one and I had the pleasure of sitting on the metal bar above the back tire. It was incredibly fun though. We talked the whole time and I didn’t have to work at all. We got to the store and I bought my detergent and then went back. I’m pretty sure on the way back he hit as many bumps as possible because it hurt me. I still thought it was funny. When we got back we ate a little dinner and talked for a little bit. We had to catch a bus back to Santiago which took about 30minutes of waiting. When we got on the bus it was about 10pm. The bus trip back took forever because the guy kept stopping to pick up more people. I shouldn’t complain about that but I just did because it was annoying. When we got back to Santiago we were 3 minutes too late to take the metro…3 minutes!!! So we had to take the bus which I hate. Well we missed our bus stop and ended up walking most of the way home. It was fun though! So that brings me to now, 3:00 am waiting on my laundry. It was such a great weekend but I am exhausted!

our feast!

my decorations!

Christmas party with Jorge

Celeste and I, how cute are we?

group photo on the hill at Eli's house

just me