Wednesday, December 28, 2011

New Tumblr

Ok I would like to thank my best friend Taylor Juarez for getting me hooked on Tumblr. I have a tumblr site that has pictures of my exchange and it is a more fun thing to update than this blog. I will probably still be posting most of what is happening on here but if you want to SEE what I am up to then you can check this out.

http://chillininchile2012.tumblr.com/

My Christmas was really fun. I was sweating. I also have to admit that even thoug I am from Texas, I am not used to this heat without Air Conditioning. I got good gifts from my family and I of course ate good food. It was my first Christmas in summertime and while it was really wierd, I really enjoyed it.

I change my host family January 2nd. From what I have been told I am going to change families for the summer ( january and february) then come back to the family i am with now so i can attend school in march. I have also been told that my next family is in Cartajena, which is a beach! so that is pretty exciting.

Thats pretty much what has been going on lately..check out my tumblr page!!

Wednesday, December 21, 2011

Summer in December

ok its been awhile. I have a feeling this blog will be lengthy so grab a cup of coffee and get ready for a novel. No I'm just kidding, but this one will definately be longer than others.

Oh where to begin? Well first off I would just like to say that it is extremely weird that summer is December and that Christmas is 3 days away and I am going to swim parties and tanning like its July. Its so hot here, not Texas hot but there is so much humidity and smog I almost think it might be worse! But I think of the summer we just had in Texas and then I think " ok its really not that hot..." haha.
OH CHRISTMAS IS 3 DAYS AWAY!!
How this even happen? I don't even understand how time could go so fast. I can remember in August when I first started my exchange I remember thinking to myself " If I can just make it through the holidays and past New Years then it will be smooth sailing from there..." I now here I am, 3 days away from Christmas sitting on my roof outside my bedroom in Chile and wondering how time could go by so fast. I am having so much fun here. I have been hanging out with some other exchange students that are here in my area and they are so fun. I just got back from a party/ sleepover with a bunch of exchange students who are from all over the world like Finland, Germany, Mexico, Canada, and U.S.A. They are all so crazy and fun to be around. There was one point where we all simultaneously woke up at 4 am and we were all speaking different languages like German, english, spanish and even spanglish. Of course I think nothing of it and go back to sleep. If i was not an exchange student this would be a really weird thing to wake up to at 4 am. Also another thing that is pretty a normal thing to do is to go to the supermarket and buy food and then sit out on the patio and eat and not care what anybody else thinks because we are hungry and we are going to eat wherever we want. WE don't care if people stare.

The bond between exchange students is the wierdest and coolest thing in the world. We all have a common interest and it doesn't matter what country you come from, what language you speak, what color your hair is, all that matter is that you are an exchange student. We all have each others backs and its a bond you won't be able to find anywhere else.

I have made it to Christmas. I can't believe it. If I can do this I really feel like I can do anything. anything I do after this will be so much easier. I have learned more about my self in 4 months than most people do in a lifetime and I owe it all to my SAVIOR, my Rotary Family, Friends, and of course family.
Ok, maybe not a novel. I feel like i had more to say but i cant remember now. I am going to bed now. Chao everyone! Have a Merry Christmas!!<3

Saturday, December 3, 2011

The Chilean Way

Hello everyone! I apologize for not writing sooner.

This past month has flown by. Time seems to go  by faster when you understand what people are saying, it also goes by faster now that I am actually speaking more spanish. When i first came to Chile I was in "cuarto medio" which is like senior year, but they get out a month earlier than everybody else in order to prepare and study for the PSU, which is sort of the the SAT but way harder and without calculators, and they only have one chance to take it and get a good score. I guess you could say its kinda a big deal. My host sister ,Camila, has been studying non-stop for this test. Anyways, I was in cuarto medio but when they finished I switched to tercero medio (junior year). When I switched, at first it was hard. I was like my first day of school all over again. i didnt know anyone, everyone asked the same questions like "where are you from?" " do you like Chile?  do you have brothers and sisters?  do you like the school? do you have a boyfriend? what is your family like here? how do chileans treat you?" and the list goes on and on and on... except only this time i couldnt say " no entiendo" which is I don`t understand, because I did understand. I have been here for 3 months. I understood everything. So i patiently answered thier questions. They were all super nice to me and they said I speak good for only being here 3 months. They all want to practice thier english, which is cool. The teachers are really nice too. The cool thing is I will be here in march when I have to start school again, and I will be with the same students so it is a good thing I meet them now.

This past week I went to Reñaca. Reñaca is in Viña del Mar which is one of the most touristed areas in Chile. It is absolutly beautiful. God created such a beautiful earth for us to live in. The beach was so pretty but the water was reallllllyyyyyyyy cold!! It kind of reminded me of the California coast, because after all it still the pacific ocean, except on the other side of the equator. The city of Reñaca was sort of built into the hill side, everything was so steep. I got a tan, it felt wierd tanning in November. I just sort of went, tanned, chilled, if we wanted to do something we just went, no plans ahead of time ( the chilean way). I had an amazing time.
The day after I got back My host sister had her high school graduation, then later that night i stayed up until 4:00 in the morning do a last minute presentation  that I had to present in spanish today. Of course I didnt find out about it until thursday night because my host siter forgot to tell me. whoops. So I was doing it the chilean way, drinking coffee and finishing at 4 am. But I presented today and I think it went well. I went to an event today with my family and other exchanges and thier families and it was really fun. We had an asado or BBQ and I got to talk to other exchange students, and laugh about expierences or stupid things we have done or said.

Also my family put up the christmas tree today. It looks AWESOME, with all it ornaments and blinking lights! When i leaarn how to put pictures on my blog I will post lots of pictures. I am sort of challenged when it comes to things like that. Welp i think thats all for now. Sorry for the grammer and probably bad english, but hey i am learning another language, i am exchange student. That is my life right now, doing things the Chilean way.

Wednesday, November 9, 2011

another you know you are an exchange student when...

I decided to do another one of these because i think of them all the time:

You know you are an exchange student when
- you unknowingly load money on your micro/ metro card everyday and actually find out it not necessary. haha lesson learned.
- when some one tells you that you speak well/ or have a good accent and you just give them the most ridiculous smile in the world.
-  you find it harder and harder to remember you own native language.
- you have a whole conversation completely in a different language and you feel so accomplished
- you have random homesickness moments and have done nothing to provoke them.
-  you are a part of like 10 different groups solely for exchange students on facebook.
-  the first words you learn in school are words you should never say.
-  you are talking to another exchange student and then realize you are both speaking spanish and understand eachother...coolest feeling ever.
- you discover hulu and pandora dont work, and you are crushed. ( But Chile did get netflix...finally..now all i need is the password. haha)
- you find yourself translating english songs and other things for your friends.
-you still have pictures you took at an outing in october but still haven't uploaded them to facebook yet.
- your new wears off
- every class becomes art class
- you discover there is no word for "akward" in your host language and that there is no way to describe "swag"
- you say you dont know the language just so you don't have to deal with sales people.
- you don't know how everyone is able to cross the street with out getting run over because the moment you take one step into the road, you come inches away from getting hit. and to make it better there is an extremely scary cross walk right next to school so everyday everyone gets to watch the crazy foreign kid play chicken.

- you have to constantly explain to your friends at school that high school in America is not like the movies at all and the parties aren't like the movies either.
- you cant tell jokes anymore because they just are not as funny in your host language.
- your friends at home just don't understand anymore
- when you try to convince yourself that a word in your host language is also a word in english...(entonces..definatly not a word in english)
- some english words sound wierd to your ears
- you see facebook posts in all different languages because you have friends all over the world
- you have to clarify which family you are talking about


real talk- thanks for reading :)

Wednesday, November 2, 2011

Halloween in Chile

hey everyone! Just an update about how last week went. Last week my school had alianzas which i guess you can describe it like a competition between grades. My school is all ages starting from kinder. My class was in the white group and we had to do a musical- Chicago. We also danced a cheerleading dance like i mentioned before...it went really bad but we all had fun doing it. The little girls also had to dance and they danced to a song from camp rock 2. The older girls also danced to to katy perry and the older guys danced like Watchiturros. It was really fun and the musical "Chicago" went really well and we won third place. So obviously we were upset because everyone knew that it went REALLY GOOD! So like the rebellious teenagers that we are we all decided to come to school the next day in black clothes, as a way to protest and to show "mourning" because white is a happy color and no one was happy so we wore black instead. Thinking back on it now it was just a silly competition but it was serious at the time. Haha. I thought the wearing of the black clothes was funny, plus it didn't hurt anybody so it was fine. My friends are awesome.
Also Halloween weekend  I went to Rancagua, which is about an hour away from Santiago. I stayed with my friend Lucy who is an exchange student from Oregon. How do I know her? well I met her at a Rotary Orientation and we were immediately friends. This just goes to show how you can immediately become friends with another exchange student. I went on Friday and we went to a Halloween party. Man! It was so fun. More people looked at me wierd because not only am I blonde, but Lucy is blonde as well and two blonde girls, together in a small town in Chile look like tourists. I guess in Santiago it is more common to seen light haired people. I felt like it was my first week again because everyone was looking/staring at me and I didn't know anyone. The party was really fun though! I stayed until monday ( which we had off of school for halloween) which I though was pretty neat because we dont get halloween off in the States. hahahaa. We saw the movie "Contagio" which i guess in English is Contagion?

I am at a point in my exchange where I can understand everything..minus the slang ( Chile has cool slang but sooo much of it) and I can speak when necessary. Also being with Lucy this past weekend and then skyping friends and family back home I have discovered that not only is it hard to speak spanish, it is equally as hard to speak my native language as well. It is hard to switch from english to spanish over and over. It is hard to explain.

Things I miss from home; Obviously my family and friends!
- Free refills
-free water
- being able to drive where ever
- my bed
- spicy food
- fuzzy's tacos
- bible class at PR
- oddly enough, babysitting
- leadership class-
- not having to say "sin gas" when i order water ( first time got me..haha)
-salad dressing
- costco hotdogs
- the smell of my house
- the quietness of my neighborhood
-cheap clothes
- cheap shoes

Things I love about Chile;
- My family
-My friends
- the GINOURMOUS MALLS!!!!
- the shopping (dont worry mom and dad I just look ;)
- the hustle and bustle of Santiago and all the strange/ interesting people I see everyday
- EMPENADAS!! :D
- waking up and looking out my window at the beautiful Andes mountains
- how it is cold in the morning and cold at night

I feel like my first list was longer and I feel it shouldn't be that way but i really do love it here. I have a family friend who just arrived from Texas today and he is here in Santiago on business and he has a suitcase full of things from home for me. I get to see him tomorrow and I think seeing him will make me feel more at home and also when he returns home he can reassure my parents that I am doing fine here.  I am excited. My dad put Stride gum in there. :) anyways..that wasnt about halloween at all but honestly I couldnt think of a title.

Tuesday, October 25, 2011

My life so far...

Alot has happened since I posted last. 
1.) I saw JUSTIN BIEBER!! thats right folks THE Justin Bieber. He came to Santiago for his MyWorldTour South America and my friend has connections with the airport and we were able to go and see him when he came in on his private jet for his concert here in Santiago. Unfortunatly his mamnger said no photos or autographs but we did get to see him when he came to the airport. Of course we were seperated by glass and my friends and I were the only 3 calm people in the room. The other girls were plastered against the glass crying and saying things in spanish that I didn't understand. We got a head nod and a wave from the Biebs and thats about it. After Justin left the airport in a helicoptor, which is probably necessary considering the fans here are crazy, his manger Scooter Braun came in. Scooter was very nice and apologized on behalf of Justin, saying he had to get to school. We took pictures with him and talked for a little while. What a fun day.

2.) I have been practicing nonstop for the alianzas at my school. They are today and tomorrow. I have a small part in the musical "Chicago" i simply play the part of a blonde in the beginning of a musical number. The cheerleading dance is finally coming together and we have been practicing really hard. The musical is tomorrow and the cheerleading dance is thursday. I hope my camera has enough space for all the videos I want to record! haha

3.) I went shopping on sunday and also went to San Cristobal and saw a japenese garden and the place we went to had a really cool biking trail and and an awesome view of Santiago.

ok well maybe that is only 3 things but they seemed like a lot in my head. Some other things on my mind are:
- college
-family
- future
- spanish

haha. Lately I have been in an odd mood- I think it is the stage between homesickness and just pure lonliness. There are days when my family isnt doing much and I just go in my room and watch tv. Im pretty sure i watched all of the "One Tree Hill: series in a matter of 5 days. I'm not really sure how this happens. Its not that I am trying to avoid my family, I love my family, but I have some days where nothing else is going on and  I just don't want to talk to anyone or days where I don't think I can stand to hear anymore spanish, but the next day I am fine. I was not much of a "hugger" while I was in the states but now I find myself wanting hugs all the time. WIERD. It is a feeling hard to describe and I think only people who have experienced it would understand. I included this written by another exchange student in Brazil because I think it describes my experience perfectly.

"I am an exchange student. How do you know what is a dream if you never accomplished one? How do you know what is an adventure if you never took part in one? How do you know what is anguish if you never said goodbye to your family and friends with your eyes full of tears? How do you know what is being desperate, if you never arrived in a place alone and could not understand a word of what everyone ...else was saying? How do you know what is diversity if you never lived under the same roof with people from all over the world? How do you know what is tolerance, if you never had to get used to something different even if you didn’t like it. How do you know what is autonomy, if you never had the chance to decide something by yourself? How do you know what it means to grow up, if you never stopped being a child to start a new course? How do you know what is to be helpless, if you never wanted to hug someone and had a computer screen to prevent you from doing it? How do you know what is distance, if you never, looking at a map, said “I am so far away”? How do you know what is a language, if you never had to learn one to make friends? How do you know what is patriotism, if you never shouted “ I love my country” holding a flag in your hands? How do you know what is the true reality, if you never had the chance to see a lot of them to make one. How do you know what is an opportunity, if you never caught one? How do you know what is pride, if you never experienced it for yourself at realizing how much you have accomplished? How do you know what is to seize the day, if you never saw the time running so fast? How do you know what is a friend, if the circumstances never showed you the true ones. How do you know what is a family, if you never had one that supported you unconditionally? How do you know what are borders, if you never crossed yours, to see what there was on the other side? How do you know what is imagination, if you never thought about the moment when you would go back home? How do you know the world, if you have never been an exchange student?

Tuesday, October 11, 2011

Through His Creation

First off I would like to apologize for not posting in a while. This past weekend I went on a Rotary trip with other exchange students to Penalolen. We visited Rhuka Mapuche where we learned how to count to 10 in the mapuche language. Then we went to this beautiful herb garden where you could pretty much eat every plant there. We were allowed to pick the flowers and the garden smelt so beautiful. After that went to a mountain where you could see all of Santiago below. It was beautiful. We had an "asado" for lunch which is like a  barbeque only better :) Then we talked with other exchange students and their families. Then a few of us went on a trek up this beautiful mountain. Words can not even describe how beautiful it was. God is so good. I really felt close to God while I was up on that mountain enjoying his creation.

Then on Sunday my host brother left for Germany for his exchange year, finally (he had problems with his visa too) but he is now there safely and he doesn't know a lick of German. Sunday was a hard day for me because everyone was crying and hugging and there was so much love and it reminded me of when I left for my exchange. Renato was crying and his friends were crying and there was just so much love that it just made me miss my family, yet at the same time I was crying because I was happy and thanking God for putting me in such a wonderful loving family.

Being here has allowed me to develop a better relationship with God. Realizing that it IS just me and God on this journey has helped me get through some rough nights. Not being around my youth group has been really hard but it has also allowed my faith to become my own and I realized I don't need anyone else but God. Saturday as I hiked "Through His Creation"I was reminded how amazing He truly is. I was speechless. Being in nature shows the real beauty of God.

"Beauty puts a face on God. When we gaze at nature, at loved one, at a work of art, our soul immediately recognizes and is drawn to the face of God."- Margaret Brownley

I am also teaching a cheerleading dance to some girls at school for the "alianza" week coming up. Which is basically like a competition between grades. Cheering has made me feel more at home. I am excited to see how it all turns out.

Tuesday, September 27, 2011

You know your an exchange student when...

  • your tired no matter how much sleep you get
  • you are confused most of the time
  • you make a mistake and learn from it
  • you miss home
  • you eat more than usual
  • sometimes can't sleep at night because you have so much on your mind
  • you miss being hugged by your family
  • get headaches more often
  • feel as if you will never learn the language of your host country
  • learn how to mix and match your clothes
  • find yourself praying a lot more
  • you ask yourself "what the heck am I doing here?"
  • eat foods that look like something that should never be consumed
  • you have the "deer in the headlights" look mastered
  • where "si" "no" or "que" are words that seem to work no matter the situation
  • you are immediately friends with other exchange students
  • you sleep in school because you are tired all the time
  • you miss your bed 
  • you can be mad and happy all in one day

BUT YOU REALLY KNOW YOUR AN EXCHANGE STUDENT WHEN, DESPITE ALL THOSE THINGS, YOU STILL WAKE UP EVERY MORNING LOVING YOUR LIFE! :)

Thursday, September 22, 2011

Good and the Bad

BAD-Well like anywhere, there are bad people. My host family's car got broken into a week ago and they stole thier GPS and $100+ worth of my BareMinerals make- up. It was a downer because I cant buy that kind of stuff here. So that kind of stunk. I am starting to miss my family, I miss hugging my daddy and playing with Jessica. I miss arguing with Christian (who knew I would ever say that?) I should probably stop looking at pictures from homecoming week back at KHS because it makes me miss my friends. I am at home right now instead of out with my host sister and her friends because I am not old enough to get into the place they are going to. It is also really frustrating that when I go out I have no idea what the teenagers are saying because they talk SOO fast and use different words and don't enunciate at all. I feel so out of place and I'm just really missing home.

GOOD- I really like having a week off of school to celebrate the "Dieciochera" I get to sleep in. I went to a fonda and ate really good food and bought some cool things. We went to the mall (it probably sounds I go to the mall a lot but I really don't) and I bought a canvas and painted a gift for my friend Lorena for her birthday. Her party was tonight and I think she really liked her gift.

Tuesday, September 13, 2011

Settling In

I have been here for 15 days and I still love it. Riding the bus or the subway is not near as a big deal as it was the first few days nor is wearing my school uniform everyday. I have met some great people here and I have only been here a short amount of time. The language is still difficult, especially at school because the students use a lot of slang and speak sooo fast! I am learning how to say phrases instead of just words so i feel like that is a step. I went last wednesday to visit Camilo ( the exchange student from San Bernardo, Chile who stayed in my home in Texas for a few months) so that was good to see a familiar face and spend time with my hermano. His house is only 15 minutes driving from my house.
I went to a Rotary meeting on Saturday where they fed me empenadas, which is one of the traditional Chilean foods and is soooo delicious. They served me this huge empenada which has onions and meat in it and I thought this was the meal, haha no after I ate the empenada they brought a plate full of meat!! I hardly ate any of it as I was already full from the HUGE empenada. The "dieciocho(18) de Septiembre" is coming up and it a huge Chilean fiesta. where they celebrate independence from Spain. They start the festivities days before the 18th and days after the 18th. There is apparently parades, food, dancing, beverages and music. That is all that everyone is talking about here. We get a week off of school next week because of it! At the Rotary meeting they danced the national dance of Chile- the Cueca because it is getting so close to the "dieciocho". They also made me put on my Rotary jacket, the hat the men wear to dance the cueca, and the poncho thingy ( I don't know the official name) but they made me wear it and take a picture with some Rotarians and the club president. My host sister just laughed and all these Rotarians took pictures. They also said that would they would have to look out for me because I am a "pretty blonde girl." they are so nice and said that they are throwing my official welcome party on the 22nd of September so I am really excited about that. The building they held the Rotary meetings was really neat and I would have taken pictures if I had remembered to bring my camera to the meeting. The building was only for Rotary events. It had the Rotary wheel on the front of the building and inside there was a big Rotary wheel in tile with all the colors in the middle of the room. They had framed pictures of past Presidents and it was just really neat to see another club and how they operated and how they had a building just for Rotary and community events.
I just got done eating a really good lunch with my family. It was rice, a mixture of meat( cut up hot dogs and beef) with this sauce. It was very tasty, I had salad and boiled eggs too. I am getting used to eating salad with lemon and olive oil  instead of salad dressing (which they don't like here by the way). I then ate pineapple ice cream, except it was like pinapple ice....it didn't have milk in it, but is officially my favorite dessert. I also offered to make devied eggs for them one day, and my tasty spaghetti another day, there are few things I know how to cook but I wan't to share the few with my family.

I went to the movie theater with Camila and Renato ( my host sister and older brother) to see Monte Carlo and usually the movies are in english with spanish subtitles, Even Camila thought it was going to be in english so when the movie started and it was spanish with no subtitles, they just laughed really hard. I have never had to think so hard while watching a movie before. It was especially hard because the setting in the movie was in Monte Carlo so the script had some french thrown in there, so to say I was a confused would be an understatement. Luckily I had watched the trailer (in english) so I knew somewhat what the plot was. I could understand some of the dialogue but honestly for the most part I was just confused. As soon as I would translate what they said, there was 10 more things I had to translate( like most of my days), so I would translate the funny lines, then laugh later than everyone else. It was interesting and I was exhausted when the movie was over. Also fun fact: sweet popcorn is commonly served, they don't like salty popcorn in fact, they looked at me weird when I asked for it.. Renato tried it and didn't like it.
I watched the Cowboys game with my brothers on Sunday and they were just laughing at me. That game was embarrassing ( Romo has got to go..:/)- My host brother Renato, even wrote on my facebook wall "cowboys suck" it was funny because I couldn't even argue with him, partially because I couldn't argue in spanish and because I didn't have much to back up my argument. It was especially funny because he was sitting right next to me on his laptop and then he logged of facebook and asked me if I wanted to get on and I said yes (not knowing what he wrote on my wall) so I get on and just start laughing and I look at him and he just says-in english- "its true" (he was right) it meant a lot to me that he spoke in english to me because he understands english but I know it is difficult for him to speak it as it is difficult for me to speak spanish. So it was cool how my brother was messing me, I actually felt like his sister instead of just a girl living in his house. I also played pool with him. We have newly remodeled game/family room, it was under construction when I arrived,  I am not very good, so that gave him more reasons to laugh at me but towards the end of the game, he was helping and letting me go again when I made a terrible shot. I feel like I am settling in, the "honeymoon" stage is over. I've seen the grafitti, the malls, and all the buildings, I have rode the subway and the buses. I now know where the cereal and food is, I know where the cupsand bowls are. I know how to turn on the shower, and where to put my towels when I get done with them. I am finally settling and I know I will be here for a while. I feel like I am going to be just fine.

Friday, September 2, 2011

Soy Rubia!

On Tuesday I went to the mall in Santiago (the smaller one of the the two) and we had to take the subway. There are so many people and they stand so close to you. People stare at me because I am blonde ( soy rubia) and I look like a person from the united states. I don't look Chilean at all!! ahaha but its funny that I get so much attention. Also I said taht the mall was the smaller one of the two, haha it was like a small town!!! it was sooooooooooooo big. It makes the Parks Mall in Arlington look  so pathetic. It was soo cool and my sister Camila an I are going to the BIG mall tomorrow to shop! I am so excited! We went there yesterday to buy my uniform for school. which I really like also. I wore mine today and I was so excited to wear it and whaat do ya know, it was a jeans day so i just looked like an idiot blonde in my full uniform. but it was ok because luckily I wasn't the only one, my sister was wearing hers too. We had pictures for the yearbook today and that was fun. The photographers were so interested in the fact that I was from Texas. I feel like the main attraction at school. The school is really small so they all know that I am a "estudiante intercambio de Texas." plus I don't look like everyone else. Everyone at school is so nice to me and they are so geuine. Most of them know english and they want to practice their english with me so that is fun, plus since it is my first week I am glad I am able to communicate with some people because most of the time I am quiet because I am trying to figure out what these people are saying. They are always laughing and its frustrating that I don't know the jokes. But I know with time I will learn.

They talk so fast especially the teens at my school. Also they cut off words like instead of "por favor" (please) they will say "porfa" and they also say "po" a lot. "po" is used like american teenagers use the word "like" or "see." I just figured this out yesterday because I was sitting there listening and thinking " what is 'po'" but I asked and its not even a word its just like a filler. I was sooo confused. Well everyday I am confused about something. But I feel like my family is actually my family and not just random strangers letting me live in their house. Some how there is always food ready. I think my mom must cook all day or something because there is ALWAYS food! It is awesome! They are sooo nice.

This afternoon, a plane full of famous people crashed off an island in Chile called Juan Fernandez, and they are still not sure what happened, they just saw things floating on top of the water so they think everybody on the plane is dead. It is so sad and a lot of people here are sad because there were famous people like news reporters on the plane. I pray that God is with them and their families tonight as they figure out what happened to their loved ones.

I'm sure that this blog was very unorganized but that is how my brain is right now. I still don't know what is going on most of the time, and my brain jumps from one thing to the next and I can't even control it. Thanks for reading the blog of a confused,tired,blonde, exchange student from the United States in Latin America! :)

Sunday, August 28, 2011

Estoy aquí

Hey amigos!! Well I made it to the beautiful country of Chile. By beautiful I don't just mean the landscape but I mean the people as well. Chileans are beautiful people with beautiful hearts. My family is so nice and they all love each other so much. They all joke with each other and are just so laid back and relaxed. It is so different than being in the U.S. Here are a few things that are differente:

  • the obvious ( language) I knew it was going to be spanish but Chilean spanish is so different than the textbook spanish we learn. They shorten phrases ( like we do) and they have different sayings and pronounciations too. Like for instance instead of saying "buen de fin de semana" (have a good weekend" chileans just say "buen finde" instead. So I am having some troubles with the language. however it is only my first day. I will learn.
  • another thing is the coffee. They don't make coffee in a coffee maker, its a coffee powder in a can and you just add leche(milk) & water. It still has a coffee taste ( not as good) but it works.
  • the food is different. It was good. The big meal is lunchtime, they eat light meals for breakfast and dinner. For lunch we had carne(meat-beef) and this potato vegetable mix and celery with a lemon dressing. SO GOOD! and the helado (ice cream) was amazing it was "helado pina, platanos con salsa chocolate" which was this pineapple ice cream with chocolate sauce on top of cut up bananas. It was so good I had two bowls, They were so happy I liked it. :) They eat bread every day. At "dinner" we had "coffee" and tea and bread. They put avacado on thier bread, Texan don't be fooled avacado is not the same as guacamole. Avacado on bread is not bad, but they had nutella too. I also had a lemon cake that was my host dad's abuela's (grandma's) recipe. The "dinner" was a light meal more like a snack.
  • also the meals are different too. In the U.S we hardly ever eat any meals as a family and if we do, we get up from the table after we are done eating. Well not here, we eat every meal together and we sit and talk after we are done eating, we just stay at the table and laugh and fellowship. Even though I have no idea what they are saying now( probably talking about how confused I look), give it a few months and maybe I will even crack a few jokes at the table :) hehe
also I learned that is the "azul" (blue-Universidad de Chile) team is playing futbol (soccer) then thats the team my family cheers for, so that is the team I will cheer for :)

my brain hurts from trying to translate and figure out what the strange words mean. I need rest and I could write a whole lot more and maybe I will later but as for now. Chau! (they say chau instead of "adios")


Monday, August 22, 2011

VOY A CHILE! :)

Ok. Wow. I finally have time to breathe.
Saturday was my "going away" party and it was tons of fun and it was extremely refreshing to know how many people are supporting me and loving me through this whole process. I am so thankful to God for giving me such amazing friends and a wonderful church family. I am so unworthy of it all.

After all the circles the FBI and the Chilean consulate sent us in, I finally have my FBI background check (Chile is on of the few that requires one...convenient right?) Originally I was scheduled to leave yesterday at 9:20pm but due to circumstances out of my control, I was forced to reschedule my flight for this Saturday instead. I also had to get Congresswoman Kay Bailey Hutchison's office involved with hopes of them helping me get my FBI check expedited. They were very nice and patient and did everything in their power to help me out. I was extremely impressed with the patience and diligence that they put into my case. In fact, they said that if I had not contacted them, who knows when I would have actually gotten the coveted background check. Although it was not in time to leave on Sunday, it finally arrived Friday afternoon. I am going to Houston tomorrow night and will go for my interview at the Chilean consulate to get my visa at 11:30 am on Wednesday. Then I will get on a plane at 9:30pm on Saturday night at DFW airport and fly nonstop all the way to Santiago International Airport where I will be greeted by my host family and possibly some Rotarians. I was talking to my friend Jenna, who has been there a few weeks and she said she absolutely loves it! I can not wait. I was ready to go yesterday. Ok well thats not true, I have not packed yet but it is a slow process. Packing for a year. I think the longest I have ever packed for was maybe two weeks? So packing will be a new experience, but I am ready for the challenge of packing my life for a whole year.

Today, my sister started kindergarten and my brother started high school. I can't even believe it. People always told me "time goes fast" but I never thought it would go this fast. My friends started back at school today, most of them for their last year. It is sad that I didn't get to be with them but I'm hoping I can meet them for lunch sometime this week. I will miss my friends so much! The up-side to the delay as I mentioned earlier, is that I am able to go to my high school's first football game and see all my friends and then hang out with y church youth group at 5th quarter afterword. So I am glad things worked out the way they did.

I will try my best to post as often as I can. Thank you all for reading :)

Tuesday, August 2, 2011

Lukewarm

Wow. Im less than 3 weeks from leaving on my exchange. I'm so excited to be there and meet my family! I titled this post "Lukewarm" because just recently I attended a party with my friends from school. They were talking about next year  (senior year),  about the new teachers, new classes and schedules. I could already feel I was losing those connections. I thought I would be sad when this started to happen (which I knew would sooner or later) but I wasn't sad or happy. My feelings were lukewarm. Since theoretically I'm done with high school in the states (still hard to comprehend) It was hard for me to connect with people who were still in "high school". I don't say this to sound ignorant, because technically I am still a high school student myself. I didn't want this to happen, but its inevitable. Its just that now my biggest worries aren't about what teachers I will have next year, or what my schedule will be like, or if I will have "off" periods or not. If I was not going on this exchange I would be worrying about these things like most of my senior friends. However,the biggest things on my mind right now is getting my visa, and what will I pack? What do I do when I arrive? Then it will be adapting to the cold, meeting new people and getting used to hearing spanish instead of english.

Again, its weird to think I am done with high school, and have no desire to go back. It's kinda one of those "been there, seen, enjoyed, don't wanna go back"Im ready to go adventure and see, and ADAPT (exchange students are very familiar with this word.) Being at that party made me realize how different exchange students are or become (  and I haven't even left yet!). The whole time I was at the party I was thinking about my exchange, I wanted to be actively involved in the conversation but I felt as if I was kinda done with "gossiping" and teachers. I had fun at the party, and I'm so glad I went and got to see everyone. Something inside of me has changed, Im not even sure how to explain it. " its not good, its not bad, its just different."

Like I have said in previous posts, My emotions are a roller coaster. I'm lukewarm about some things I used to care a lot about  (I think part of it is I'm just ready to be there.) This is a huge step and I'm only 18 days away!! :)

Wednesday, July 20, 2011

"Everything will be okay in the end, if its not okay, it's not the end."

Shout out to my Rotex Brenna- gracias por darme las palabras de inspiracion!

Oh my goodness.
I leave for Chile in 31 days.
I'm freaking out.

haha- no really there have been so many times where I have been doubting myself and just wanting to bang my head up against the wall because there is so much preparation involved in the whole youth exchange process. Why would anyone want to leave everything that they know and love, to go study a different language, country and culture? Its CRAZY!!

Lately I have been so stressed. I am taking online college courses at TCC ( tarrant county college) and I am also taking a  2 hour classroom course Monday- Thursday in order to get my English credits that I will not be able to receive while abroad. I need these credits for graduation here in Texas when I return. The homework is ridiculous! Plus, working through all of the paperwork required to get my student Visa to even travel to Chile, alone, is a great headache. I am also working in the heat in the afternoons so I can pay for the expenses of my trip. So that wears me out. There have been times where I thought I was going to lose it and thought of backing out of the  whole exchange altogether. But then I thought of all the great things I will learn while I'm there, and all the people I will meet, and how much I will grow through all of this and all of these things still outweighed the stress I am going through right now.
My exchange is a month away. In ways I feel like I am so unprepared, but in ways I'm just ready to be in Santiago safely and meet my host family at the airport. Even though its only the beginning, I feel like this is the kind of stress I will experience on my exchange, so I better learn how to handle it now. There have been times where I have really had trouble trusting God, and remembering that he will never fail me. My biggest struggle right now is balancing all of the different things I have going on, and remembering to allow God to help me because I cannot do it on my own, no matter how much I think I can.
My heart goes out to all of my outbound friends who will, like me, be leaving soon. We were told it was going to stressful, difficult and scary, but I don't think we realized it until we actually had to deal with.

OK, enough complaining Madison- I know things are going to be okay and even having the time to blog and actually seeing the words on the screen helps me :) Thank you to everyone who is praying for me and for everyone who has been so supportive of me. I could have never been brave enough to do this without all of you!

Saturday, July 9, 2011

Is this really happening?

I seem to be asking myself this a lot lately, " Is this really happening?" Every time I get an email from Camila ( my host sister) I think to myself, " Is this really happening?" I know I leave a lot later than most of my fellow exchange students so I can only imagine how they are feeling right now! wow! I'm worried about my visa because I have not heard from the consulate and i filed my papers over 2 weeks ago...hmmm?

I'm so excited and I think about my exchange everyday and always make a list of things I have to get done before I step on that plane in August. I lose the list and have to make a new one. hahaha. So much on my mind that I don't even  know where to begin. With college classes starting Monday and work and everything regarding my exchange and the people I will meet there and the people I will leave here... my mind is going a billion different directions!! ahh I pray that God gives me the peace and guidance to get through the rest of this summer and off to Chile peacefully.

I honestly covet prayers as I prepare for year abroad. This is only the beginning...

Sunday, June 26, 2011

What if the trials of this life are your mercies in disguise?

I sent in my visa application yesterday and also booked my plane tickets. The plan is to leave out of DFW at  night on august 21st and fly all night and arrive in Santiago around 8ish on august 22!
 Something so simple like buying a plane ticket can really send me into a phase of excitement that probably only my fellow exchange students and Rotex(students who have already exchanged)  can fully understand. Preparing for such an important year of my life can bring many different struggles, and roadblocks, which are already testing my faith and how strong I truly am. Even now I'm beginning to see things differently, and think about and explore things that I have never thought of before...which is essentially what an exchange student does! The emotional things I'm srtuggling with will help me grow and be the best person I can be, not only as an ambassador for the United States, but as an ambassador for Christ.

Aside from my exchange, on Saturday I will be traveling to Ensenada, Mexico to share the love of Jesus to orphaned and abandoned children at an orphange called "City of Children" and also doing benevolent work and work projects in the surrounding areas that are in extreme poverty. I covet prayers as me and many members of my church family travel out of the country next week. I hope to practice my spanish and gain confidence speaking to people who I know will be patient with this "gringa" trying to speak spanish! :)

Thursday, June 23, 2011

I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me...

Hola amigos! so I decided to join many of my exchange student friends in creating a blog about my exchange year, not only while I am in Chile, but as I prepare to go on such an awesome adventure.

BACKGROUND INFO:
About 6 months ago I filled out an application to become a Rotary Youth Exchange student. I have always wanted to be an exchange student but i could never find the right program. I wanted a country that spoke spanish. Well now here I am, six months later, going to Chile!

http://www.rotary.org/en/studentsandyouth/youthprograms/rotaryyouthexchange/pages/ridefault.aspx

I am so excited about going on my exchange. I will be staying in Santiago, the capital of Chile. I will leave sometime at the end of August of 2011 and return sometime in late May or early June of 2012. I have been emailing my host sister, Camila, every so often and she seems very nice, and just recently I received an email from my host mom, Myriam. The family seems so nice and I can't wait to meet them all.

My emotions about going abroad are like a roller coaster, one day I'm so super excited to get on the plane, and then the next day I'm so scared and my head is screaming "what the heck are you thinking going to a country that you have never been to before, where you wont know the language, and living with people whom  you have only met via email...your crazy!" When you think about it though, the whole idea IS crazy, however, that is also why I am doing it. God doesn't call us to be scared, he calls us to step out in faith and lean on him for guidance. I believe this exchange year will not only benefit me in the future, but it will also help me grow spiritually as well and really test my faith. I know this is such a great opportunity and I can not wait to go. There is A LOTtof preparation and "fine tuning" that still needs to be done before I can leave in August.

TO DO:

  • apply for visa
  • make trading pins for jacket
  • gifts for host families
  • what to pack?
  • buy plane tickets
  • go to consulate to get visa
 and the list keeps going.......ahh! but it will be so worth it!