My weekend with my Chilean Family!

Ok... so sorry everyone... I am still missing some days here and there so hopefully I can post those soon.
Weds 16th
So This week I did not have school on Weds. It was a holiday for the Saint Carmen, I believe. So early wednesday morning we made the drive north. We drove for a couple hours and then stopped for some Cheese Empanadas. They were delicious! My brother Tomás bought the newspaper called La Tercera and I got to read a little bit. The drive was beautiful, we drove on the thinnest part of Chile, where the distance between the mountains and the coast is the shortest. The landscape is very similar to California. It reminded me of the drive up to grandma Tomi and Grandpas house in Aptos. We drove to a city named Vicuña. We saw a procession for the Saint Carmen. We walked through the plaza. Tomás says that every city in Chile has a plaza and usually it is with an iglesia or church. We stayed in a cabaña and the place we stayed was called Los Pinares. This was nice because it allowed us to bring our own food and cook it. The sky here is amazing. It is so pure, and so blue. A beauty so breathtaking. It is unlike anything I have any seen before. We were spoiled because out of the 4 days we were there we had 3 days of almost complete blue sky. I ate my first completo our first night their. It is really popular here and especially common with the younger crowd here in Chile. It is typically a hotdog with piles of compliments. haha So I decided to be brave and try it the completely Chilean way or what was the point right? So I ate one with chopped tomatoes, guacamole, ketchup, and mayonaise. haha It was not too bad. My littlest brother Lucas and I played cards, the game uno several times throughout this trip.

Jueves o Thursday 17th.
A very famous poet named Gabriela Mistral was born and grew up in this La Serena and Vicuña. I felt embarrassed that I had never learned much about her, or read her poems. Her and Pablo Neruda are the most famous from Chile for their writing especially in poetry. I have however learned more about Neruda in my history and english classes. I think that is interesting. However, the spirit of Gabriela still has a strong presence in the towns she influenced. She has numerous schools and streets named after her. Neruda was not accepted the same by the people. He was seen differently because of his communist views. I really liked learning about Gabriela because she was a teacher of young children. She wrote alot of amazing poems for children. I love children too, so Gabriela and I definitely shared that in common. We also went to a museo of a house and how it looked during the 1800s. That was interesting too. They had all the furniture and everything in amazing condition. We got some gelatto. I had a flavor of Lucuma, a fruit from the Andes, and manjar. Manjar I might have already said is my new guilty pleasure. hehe. I love it. Similar to caramel. Then we went back to the cabin for some dinner and resting time. We ate pasta with tuna. Then we waited til 10:30 to go to the Mamalluca observatory. We had a tour reservation at 11:30. The entire powerpoint presentation was in Spanish, so I only caught parts of it. Then we got to look at Jupiter and see its 3 moons in the big telescope. We also got a closer look at the moon and a constellation that looked like a mariposa or a butterfly. I met some other ¨gringos¨ that were from New York and Conneticut. The guys from NY were traveling to alot of South of America. The guy from Conneticut had just finished his semester down here and was traveling with some friends. We got back to the Cabin at 1am.

Friday 18th.
We woke up pretty late again... haha Trying to get everyone up and going was tough. We went to see the tomb of Gabriela Mistral. We had to hike up some stairs to get there but we finally got their. Her tomb was surprisingly simple for a woman who had changed so many lives. Then we went to a local place for lunch. I had chuleta and papas fritas. Pork chop with fries. The restaurant was really interesting. I loved the atmosphere it had. The floor was sand and the walls were clay like. I learned about a tribe of Indians that used to live here. They were called the diaguitas. I learned that my Chilean mom Alicia used to sing in a choir when she was younger. After lunch we made our way to another museum of Gabriela Mistral. A man inside happened to be giving a tour to some gringos in english, so Tomás and I listened in a little. Apparently she was very tall especially for a woman. Her and Pablo Neruda knew each other fairly well and we read a letter on display that he wrote to her. Later we drove to a place called Los Nichos where Pisco is made and sold. We went down to a cellar where some bottles of Pisco have been stored for over a century. Everything is down by had in terms of bottling. Tomás and I got to try some fresh Pisco and boy was it strong! haha We needed to get food for onces, which is like the British tradition of tea time, but here in Chile it is at 5 or 6. So Tomás, Lucas, Alicia, Nacho and I drove into town to find something to prepare. I got to do some window shopping at the little ferias. We walked around alot and finally we decided to buy something at the supermercado. We bought a sweet dessert called Torta de los hojas. Hmmmm. It was cake full of manjar and sugar. We also ate some bread with tuna. And Cheese and crackers. After onces Lucas and I played an endless list of games. Haha I think he likes having a sister and someone to play with. We played hide and seek which was hilarious. We scared each other a couple times. haha I also made him some folded paper treats. Then with the family with watched some local Chilean comedy show and then we watched Robots in Spanish.

Sat 19th
We packed everything and breakfast and we were on our way. We eventually made it to La Serena. We took some pictures by the famous boathouse. My mom Alicia bought me a gift. She bought me a heart carved out of stone that says La Serena. Then we made our way to the Mall and plaza of La Serena. I thought I would be able to go on this trip without eating American fast food, but the boys wanted McDonalds. haha So even though I am not a big fan of McDonalds in the US I ate McDonalds in Chile. Was it really different? haha not really, but I think the fries were better, more crispy. Then we went to a little feria and out door market to buy some sweets. My mom bought some sweet dried papaya treats and manjar candies. We then were on our way. It was another 5 to 6 hours of entertainment. I think that living in a family with only sons is sooo different. haha But they definitely kept me laughing. It was a car ride of reggaeton, brothers teasing and hitting each other, Lucas praticing his reading of French with Tomás, Argentinian love songs, and the Universidad of Chile winning game. On the way home we stopped at a local pastry place and bought some yummy sweets. Finally we made it home. We ate dinner of carne hamburgers. And for dessert we had the postres we bought. My mom and I had a nice conversation about children and the relationships between siblings. We understood each other. Tomás and I watched some random youtube videos of gringos and funny clips.

More updates...Estoy haciendo una vida en Chile.

7/6- It was hard to wake up this morning for breakfast. We were all pretty beat. After breakfast we went on a zipline over a river. It was beautiful. The mountains were so magnificent and breathtaking. After we took a ¨caminata¨ (a hike). This was definitely the most physical activity most of us have had in awhile. =P With all the food and galletas (cookies) we needed it haha. Everyone thought that our guia on the hike was very handsome. haha so while he took a picture of our whole group people were totally cat-calling at him and declaring how attractive they found him. haha. I got back to my house at about 7. My brother Tomás came home this weekend. My Spanish was so awful. haha I had spent the whole weekend with ¨gringos¨=P and speaking for the most part in english. So the dinner conversation was a little over my head. Tomás was really sweet and made me some cds of reggaeton (my new obsession) and other Spanish Music. Tomá´s teased me a lot for not really understanding much Spanish tonight =P haha So we decided to even the playing field. He can laugh at my Spanish and I can tease him when he speaks in English. It was really cool though because I used Tomás´s Laptop and talked to Matias for quite awhile completely in Spanish. At first it was a joke because we were in the same room. =P It was nice though, because we don´t get to talk too much because of the language barrier and he speaks really fast.



7/7 I watched a documentary called ¨La ciudad de fotografos¨ it was about the hard times here in Chile during the 80s. My friends Mette, Jolito and I ate at a Mexican Restaurant called Margarita. We all miss our fresh California Mexican food. I ate some chicken Enchiladas and they weren´t too bad.

7/2 In class I watched a movie called Machuca about the hard times socially and politically Chile survived in the 70s and 80s. It was sad, and pretty intense but interesting too. I took a class of vitrofusion. I painted glass and it will be melted into a small bowl. I am excited to see how it came out. The house where we took the class was in the cerros(hills). I have learned alot about my family my dad is one of like 10 children if my memory serves me right. My parents have been married for about 21 or 22 years too. They met when my dad was still studying at a university. My dad works in an international business company and he has been to the U.S. several times.Miami, New York, and Washington D.C. My mom is German. Once in awhile the German culture is seen in some desserts and dishes she likes. My dad showed me lots of photos of the family, and grandparents. He even showed me some newspaper articles of my brother Tomás. He was the president of his colegio (high school). So he was featured in some local papers. Pretty impressive.

7/3 I hung out with my friend Chris. He is Chilean and also goes to school at my university. He is studying nursing. (and he reads my blogs too so ¨hi Chris¨ =P You are awesome!) We walked around Valparaíso. We ran into a friend of his who was here in Chile for 4 months. It was pretty wild meeting this guy from Germany, who spoke a little English but the language we shared in common was Spanish! He came 4 months before speaking very little Spanish and now he is getting pretty close to being fluent. Together with him and Chris´s other friend we went to La Sebastiana (0ne of Nerudas houses). We grabbed café with them and then went off on our own. We went up to the hills-cerros in an ascensor which is pretty much like a little tram but they are pretty old and mainly made of wood. It is great because Chris is learning English so he speaks to me in English and I talk to him in Spanish. We correct each other. It is fun. haha and we laugh at our mistakes. I learned about the former Colombian presidential candidate Ingrid Betancourt and her release. Taken hostage for 6 years.... wow. I got café with my intercambio partner. He treated me to a sandwich and fresh jugo (juice) I had piña (pineapple). yummy. At dinner we talked about grades here. Here there are no letter grades only numbers. 7 is the highest and perfect and hardly anyone really receives 1s. Matias made me some cds with Chilean music and other Spanish music too! That was really nice of him! I am listening to Spanish everyday on my Ipod and each day understanding more.

7/4 Deportes Extremos!
I went with my friends Joel, Jolito (our name for my other friend Joel), Miriam, Tori went to Con Con to do extreme sports with our guide and friend Philippe. Philippe and 3 of his friends took us Rappeling and Driving in the sand dunes. We rappelled down this rocks right on the beautiful coast. Then we also rappelled off a bridge and did some trust falls. So fun!! The dunes were gorgeous and looked too pure and unreal. Everyday they look different too because the sand blows and shifts around. After we had an Asado - BBQ with pollo, carne, potatoes, and Choripan this delicious sausage.

7/5 Viaje!
We had to meet our group at 8:30am. My mom made me breakfast and a little lunch for the bus ride. We went to La Chascona the second house of Pablo Neruda. We also drove in our bus to Santiago. We saw the Plaza, the Moneda ( the president´s house- Michelle Bachelet) and the Catedral. - I am not a very religious person but being in the Catedral made me feel at peace, and calm. I could see the years of hard work to create this gorgeous building. The art was amazing. The ceiling art was breathtaking and this one altar piece made of Palta (silver) from Argentina. We ate at a nice seafood restaurant above a mercado (market). Finally we arrive in Cajón de Maipo in the mountains. We said in cabins (cabañas). After dinner the dining hall became a fiesta with fun music and lots of dancing.

I have to help with lunch prep so i´ll finish updating you all later. =)

Some highlights...

On the 30th my brother Nacho fractured his nose playing fútbol (soccer). My mom told me about the many injuries of her sons. =P

1st of July I discovered one of the most delicious things in the world hehe Manjar. It is kind of like a carmel or honey. I have eaten it with platanos (bananas) and plain. I love desserts here. They are so simple but yummy. Usually it can be as simple as fruit and manjar or honey. I actually discovered that I like kiwis too. Also a popular dessert is ¨tutti fruity¨which is mainly diced up fruit in orange juice or another fruit juice. I met my friends Lisa´s family. She is the only other student I have met in my program that has younger siblings. Her brother is named matias too. We played cards, a card game called nerviosa. Basically you go around in a circle counting each time you place a card down and if the number placed down happens to match the number said everyone tries not to be the last one to slap the pile. This game has improved my numbers too. Jack=Jota, Queen=Queena. King=Kayser. (sp?). I really like the dish Casuela here. I have had it with carne and pollo now. It is delicious cause it is a soup and warm!

Time here is flying....

Ok some updates.
So I am still loving it here. My classes are entertaining and I think my Chilean culture and conversation class is amazing. I have a professor named Carlos and he is so animated and fun. I am picking up alot of the slang, which is really important in understanding the younger generations and my brothers. =). Like... here they say ¨Fome¨ which means boring or blah. They say ¨poh¨ which is like the word ¨like¨in the U.S. ¿Cachai? is like you ¨catch it?¨ ünderstand it?¨. On 6-21st I had my first dream in Spanish. My m0m came from the U.S. to visit and in my dream I went with her and my host family parents to the house of their family friends. I had to translate everything for my mom. Mom refused to eat the chicken for some reason because it was fried or something. We also ate bananas but for some strange reason they were blue. Strange Spanish Dream right? But I was excited I have always wanted to have one, and now I have.
On the 21st I went to what is called the Feria which is like a farmers market. They sell fresh produce: vegetables and fruit. After we picked up Lucas from boy scouts at his school. I got to see the colegio that Matias, Nacho, y Lucas go to. My oldest brother Tomás went their too when he was younger. I really like this type of music here called Reggaeton. It is very upbeat and great to dance to. I already uploaded some songs and other songs in Spanish to my Ipod. The other day we went on a day trip. We say La Sebastiana which is one of the houses of Pablo Neruda. It was very beautiful and huge. It looks over the ocean with an amazing view. He apparently loved the ocean. We also went to the Museo a Cielo Abierto but it isn´t really a museum that you walk into. It is just some amazing views of the city and alot of street grafitti art. Art students from some schools nearby use some of the walls as their canvases. It makes the city gorgeous.

This past weekend on 28th we had a program trip to go horseback riding. We went in a city called Con Con. We rode in las dunas. It was incredible. they looked so unreal. Straight out of a movie or aladdin. We galloped on the beach too. Afterwards we had a buffet full of food, barbeque and deliciousness. Later that night I went to the birthday party of a a friend of a friend. We sang Karaoke and hung out. It was fun more or less. Then on Sunday I went with my family to a family member´s birthday party. My Chilean dad has such a huge family. 10 brothers and sisters! We ate all day. Desserts and food dish after food dish. My mom and I shared some heartfelt conversations about her life and her struggles.

Everything is going really well. I am supposed to meet again with my Intercambio partner this week. Also I made a friend of a friend his name is Chris and he is going to show me more of Valparaiso and Viña del Mar this week. I am so excited!