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! :)

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.

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.

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! :)

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")

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 :)

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!! :)