100 días!!!

A post for Tuesday the 26th of November. But as I'm getting around to writing it, it's the 28th. Thanksgiving! or Acción de gracias! So that's pretty fitting. I'm grateful for so many people and things in my life. I'm thankful for my wonderful Mom and Dad who have taught me all the important things, for my family and the love and support they give me, and my genuine friends all over the world. I'm thankful for my church and the peace it brings me. I'm grateful for this opportunity to be in Chile for a whole year, for the capacity to learn and adjust, my family in Chile for being patient and caring with me, for the Chilean people that have opened up and let me into their world and culture, and for all the wonderful friends I have made.

And now back to my original post:

That's right folks. ONE HUNDRED wonderful days here in Chile. I hit my 3 month mark a week ago. It's seriously so crazy how fast this is going. 100 days ago, I was on a plane, nervous, excited, scared, and exhausted. I was feeling kind of doubtful about leaving home sweet home and everyone I knew and loved for an entire year. And all that to go to a place where I knew no one and didn't even speak the same language.

But as the plane was landing and I saw the mountains for the first time, I was so excited. I was smiling the biggest smile and ready to get off the plane. I could feel how many exciting and new things I would get to discover and how this year would change me. And now, here I am 100 days later, without a doubt in my mind that this was one of the best choices of my life. I am so happy to be in Chile. The Chilean people are so happy,enthusiastic, and loving. They opened up their arms and embraced me in their culture. I have made so many genuine, amazing friends. Do you want to know why?? I'll tell you why.

Today was one of my best days in Chile. Never in my life have I been so overly happy for such a long period of time. And now I'll attempt to put these feelings into words.

On my ipod, I had a countdown to the day I left the U.S.. And now, it counts the days since I arrived. My friends and I talked a few weeks about what I was going to do for my 100th day. Since it's a Tuesday school day, we planned for going out to lunch together. So yesterday we invited some people and planned to go to Top Dog's. And I didn't give it a thought more. I got to school and it was a normal day. In the first hour, Carolina came and gave me a hug and a present. That was nice of her and it made me really happy. I opened it to find a little bunny with this note:

"Hi! My name is Quinn the bunny and I don't want to give you fear, just wanna give you my love."

I continued about my day... and in history we went to the computer lab to work on our project. I'm in a group with Carolina, Natalia, Miryam, Romina, and Paula. They told me that today we'd work in two separate groups to get it done faster. So naturally I said okay and went to work with Miryam on a different computer. Little did I know they were working on a surprise for me. Miryam forgot and she said "come on Christy! Let's go ask them something" And I went over to see a few pictures of me. Then they made me run away. hahahahaha.
During recreo I walked all around the school with Miryam and Rodrigo. I could tell they were stalling but just played it cool. The bell rang and we were going to be late for class. So I kept pushing them to hurry up. And then Rodrigo says "I have missed calls from my mom. Why is she calling me?" with a really worried look on his face. So naturally we waited for him to call her back to see what was up. I didn't find out until later, but he was actually on the phone with people in the classroom seeing if the surprise was ready. We went up to the dark classroom and they told me to wait outside. So I stood there for a couple seconds by myself until Carolina came out and covered my eyes and walked me into the classroom. When she uncovered them it was magical. Instant flashback to the first day of school 3 months earlier when I walked timidly into a classroom not knowing what to expect. Both times met by 40 smiling faces. But this time I am overjoyed to call them all my friends. Besides seeing all my amazing classmates, the classroom was decorated with all my balloons and pictures. Words can't even describe it, and neither do these pictures:

I stood there speechless and then went to hug Natalia and Romina. Then they told me to sit down in a designated front-row seat. And when I did they started the slideshow. At first came pictures of me in Chile from my blog and then pictures of when I was little. (hmmmm how did they get those??) And then came a title "Hostsisters" and the my favorite Brazillian Vick's face came on the screen. And she started talking to me and congratulating me on my 100 days and telling me she loves me. And then pictures of my favorite German Carolin with a sign saying congratulations. And in those moments, the tears started. :) But tears of joy. haha. And then came Abbey and Spencer, Caroline and Michael, Ryan, Calvin, Sophie, Hannah, Jane, Katie, Jack, Aiden, AnnaMarie, Benjamin, and Dad. I don't even have words to describe how I felt and how happy I was to watch your videos and see your faces. I'll have the video posted here tonight, so check back later.

So. How did they do it? The main masterminds were Carolina, Natalia, and Romina. The figured out when my 100th day who knows how long ago (I'm thinking about 3 or 4 weeks...) and immediately started scheming. One day in class a while ago, Rodrigo was playing on my ipod. Which is completely normal since people are always playing on it. He started going through my email but I didn't care since they're all in English anyways. Then he said "I want to email your Dad!" to which I responded with a "why?? and no." Then he went and found it anyways along with the emails of AnnaMarie, Michael, Caroline, and other family members he could find. And before I could stop him, he wrote them down. But I soon forgot about that. It turns out that he passed them on to Carolina and she put the plan into action! She emailed my family and asked for pictures of me when I was little, pictures in general, and for them to record a video for me. And my family, being my fun family they are, complied. So thanks to my family for being awesome. And for all your videos.

I took out my camera to take pictures, but just as I did, my camera died. :/ So the photo credits in this post go to Nico. hahaha.

Here's some pictures from the day:

The masterminds:

Carolina, Rodrigo, Romina, and Natalia! <3 

Miryam!

Rodrigo!

I really love this picture of me and Pelado. :)

Romina!

Natalia and Romina:

Miguel, Leo, and Pelado. (I'm not really sure where the glasses came from...)

NICO! :)

Miryam and I:

Just a few of my favorite guy friends: Leo, Rodrigo, and Pelado.

Fernanda!

And the one who emailed everyone (in English!):

 Me with some balloons!

When it was time for lunch, Miryam, Natalia, Romina, Rodrigo, Carolina, Paula, and I took some balloons (much to Rodrigo's embarrassment) and started walking to Top Dog! On the way, when we saw little kids, I would give them one. It was the sweetest thing ever. Seeing their faces light up. I had one pink one left and was determined to find a cute little girl to give it to:

And a few minutes later, I found her walking with her mom, crying her eyes out. So as I passed her, I stopped and gave her the balloon. She looked at me and smiled a smile that made my heart melt.

And this picture is kind of hard to see, but if you look closely, you'll see her playing with the balloon and looking back at us. dawwww. And all the while she was jabbering away and laughing.

What's a better way to celebrate 100 days, than to eat a completo!?

So thank you, thank you, thank you, everyone for an AMAZING 100th day in Chile and the other 99. I love being here, I love my friends, and I love CHILE! CHI CHI CHI LE LE LE VIVA CHILE!

Update!

Everything has been going great! I've been busy with lots and lots of homework in school. But that'll all be over soon because I only have 2 more weeks of school left before summer break!!!

Last Friday was graduation day! I dressed up and went with my family to the ceremony and it was really nice. and long. But mostly nice. My school's orchestra is pretty impressive and they played some beautiful pieces. To receive the graduation certificates, they had groups of about 10 kids go up on stage and read off their names and took pictures. Instead of caps and gowns, the graduates wore their full uniforms (blazers, dress shirts, ties, etc.) for the last time. My brother Sergio who is in Germany is part of the class and they called his name and had my dad go up and accept it for him. So that was nice. The ceremony was so long that we left and went to eat dinner in the middle. hahahaha. Afterwards, at about 11 P.M., we went to Victor's house for his party. He is the son of Moncho and Mariella who are close friends of the family. About 25 of the family's closest relatives and friends. We had a nice dinner and listened to some karaoke. And then we danced and danced. Moncho's father, who is in his 80's told them to put on music so "that gringa would dance." hahaha. I was pretty exhausted; especially my feet in heels. We stayed there until 2:30. And I didn't get to sleep until 3:30. soooo tired. Then at 8:30 on Saturday I got up to help my mom. The day of Vicente's First Communion. I blew up a bunch of balloons and tied ribbons and papers to them. Then I helped with some other decorations.

Then we eventually went to the church for the ceremony. It was super long without a place to sit...

Romina and Miryam were there too for siblings and cousins.

 Miryam's sister and I.

The group (minus Felipe and my host parents) there to support Vicente.

 My mom and Vicente:

 We went back to the house and some relatives and friends came over for the party. My mom hired a caterer and there was lots of food. We ate in the patio (where the car is parked) and it was soooo hot. So we eventually moved the party inside. When it got over, everyone took naps. I literally passed out at 5 and slept for a solid 2 and a half hours. At 11, we got in the car and went out to the camp. My dad played fútbol with some friends while my mom and I passed out in the car. I slept so soundly. And when I woke up, it was 12:30 and we were on the way home. No wonder why I'm always tired!

On Sunday I couldn't get up early enough for church so I slept in. And when I got up, I curled my hair so I could take a picture to send to Caroline. I like curly hair. :)

On Monday, I waved my hair because I'm sick of having straight hair everyday. But for some reason, at first the curler was really hot. And I burnt my hair. I didn't think it was that bad, until my friend noticed it at school. AGHH. It's awful. And since then, I've been wearing my hair in styles that it can be hidden. haha. 

 yepppp.

Lucky for me, a few days later, one of my compañeras was selling homemade hair clips. And they hide the scorch marks. hahaha. I had been wanting to buy these anyways because everyone has them and they're cute. :) So I got two of them.

Pink and blue:

I'm not remembering a lot of what I did in school... We have a physics project, a history project, and a few tests coming. I have no idea what I'm doing in math. We're working on permutations and combinations. Which is material that I learned last year in Alg 2, but I remember not understanding it then and getting a bad a grade on the test. So I don't think it's going to go over too well in spanish. On the other hand, in the class of elective math I totally know what to do! Thanks to all the Alg 2 homework on it last year. I got some extra credit points (décimos!). And next week we have a test on it in partners. Vaalery and I are going to rock it.

Oh and on Thursday we didn't do a lot in classes. For an electivo biology class and other science classes for a few different grades, they had a science-fair-type-thing. So a lot of kids were gone from classes. In history, we went to the computer lab to work on projects. But Natalia, Carolina, and I played a game. We couldn't hold back the "ahhh you were so close!"'s and the laughing. And then when the teacher would pass by, they'd say "and this guy here, was the president in this year. But people didn't like him and that is why this event happened." And she kept walking.

On Friday in English class, I took a test on prepositional phrases. Much to my friends' disbelief, I have no idea how well I did. I'm kinda nervous. But mostly embarrassed. Some of the directions didn't make sense and some sentences were written wrong... So who knows....

Today is Saturday! For an activity with the school, it is "el día de la familia" day of the family. Students were supposed to come with their families and bring salads, meat, and drinks. Only 5 kids from my class ended up coming... But I ate with my family with Sergio's course since my mom is the president. After I ate, I went and sat with my compañeros that came. We talked, played cards, and walked around a bit. We found some hurdle-type things (which were really about a foot tall) and they had me run them. :) hahahha. There were a bunch of fútbol fields and a lot of people playing. We were there from 12 to 7 and I got pretty bored... But it was super nice weather!

Anyways. A few minutes before we left, we got a knock on the door and a package arrived. FOR ME! MY VERY FIRST PACKAGE! :) Granted that inside there are Christmas presents and candy for my friends and family... but I was still ecstatic.

So thanks Dad! He sent one package on October 7th. It hasn't gotten here yet... and I'm going to the post office (correo!) this week to ask about it. And he sent a small second one for Christmas on November 17th. And it got here today (the 23rd) What gives??

I backed up my pictures on my hard drives again tonight. And found this one on my ipod that i hadn't put up here.

Going out for ice cream one day:

 My classmates and I take a lot of pictures on my ipod. Like when people fall asleep. :P Love you sleepy Carolina!

Well... that's it for today! I'll write again soon!

I got scared by a bunny once...

Story time!

This is a story of my childhood (when IIIIIIII was a girl...), that my family will never let me forget. Especially Caroline and Michael. :) When I was about 6 or 7, I was in the driveway riding my bike around in circles. Everyone else was inside making dinner and so I was alone and it was quiet. All of the sudden, a bunny(conejo o conejito!) hopped around the corner and I was so surprised I fell off my bike. I ran inside and in my cute little Christy voice recounted what had happened. "I was riding my bike and then there was a BUNNY! And I was so scared!" And so now, whenever there is a mention of a bunny in any way, it comes back to me.

Anyways, you're probably wondering how this relates to Chile. Well, I was talking with some friends in recreo the other day when Carolina ran up and said "Christy! are you scared of bunnies!?" I responded with "yes!" and then with a confused look, began to ask her who in my family had put her up to asking me. All the while laughing hysterically. And that led her to being confused. I asked her why she had asked and then she told a story of how one time she was riding her bike a bunny came out and scared her and made her fall. I told her through the giggles that the SAME thing had happened to me when I was little and that it is a joke in my family. I'm still slightly suspicious....

Mi Pololo!!

My Monday started out pretty terribly. I woke up at 6:45 and went downstairs to shower. I pulled back the curtain and took a step forward and as I did, this little guy came out.

And before I could stop, I stepped on it with my bare foot. ACCCKKKK!! I didn't completely kill it and so it skittered to the corner. There, I took a picture of it on my ipod as part of my duty as an intercambista. I was too chicken to touch it... Then I proceeded to shake out the shower curtain again, shake out my clothes and towel, and put them on the sink. I'm really not a bug person and I'm kind of scared for a summer in South America. Also, (además!) the other day I was talking with my mom about one of my exchange student friends from the US who is in South Africa. She had said the other day that she saw her first rain spider, which are these gigantic spiders. I laughed as I told my mom about this and told her I was glad to be in Chile instead of there. She then informed me in all seriousness that there are some big spiders here too. "But they aren't out yet, they're still hiding in the walls. You'll see them in the summer." OH NO!!

Luckily, the day went uphill from there. We took a class picture with everyone in blazers, dress shirts, and ties. Everyone looked nice and I really kind of love seeing everyone in white shirts and ties (corbatas!) It's so refreshing from the sagging pants and tight shirts. I'm so happy that I get to be in a picture with my amazing class (curso!). I love them all so much and I hope that every time they see the class picture they'll say "hey! I remember Christy! I like her!"

After lunch, I went back to school SUPER happy. I don't know if it was because I understood math or I was just deliriously tired, but I was extremely happy. So anywho, it turned out to be a good day. Oh and after school, I tried my debit card but it still didn't work.

After school on Tuesday, I stayed and played some games with compañeros. Fernanda, Nico, Lucas, Rodrigo, Carolina, Leo, Romina, and I. We played volleyball and ran some races. It was really hot out and so we sat in the shade and talked for an hour. I hadn't had the chance to try my debit card that day and the money was due the next day and so at 10:15 my parents and I went the the Lider (the grocery store nearby). AND IT WORKED! Yay! I was so relieved. And then my parents had to go somewhere so I took a colectivo home. At 10:30 at night. The right one didn't come for about 15 minutes and I was getting kind of freaked out. But it did come in the end! So it was all good. And now my trip to Ba-ri-lo-che eh! eh! eh! is all paid for.

Wednesday was a really good day and I actually took some pictures! For the first class period we did absolutley nothing. We just sat in the classroom talking, braiding my hair, painting nails, and eating cherries (guindas!) from Nico's house.

Romina and I with our cherries!

Sofia with her lovely earrings.

I like when people braid my hair. :)

I just like how big my dimples are in this picture. :)

Cuarto medio (4th grade, or the Seniors) are almost finished and we spent most of the day celebrating with them. Trecero medio (3rd grade, Juniors) all pitched in money and bought hotdogs, tomatoes, avocados, and the works for a lunch. Therewas music and games of volleyball and soccer between 3º and 4º. Some girls asked me to be on a volleyball team, but we never ended up playing because the guys' match took too long. We ate chips and completos and then at 1:15 the bell rang and it was time to leave for lunch. I wasn't hungry and so I skipped lunch and stayed with my friends. With nothing else to do, Romina, Natalia, Carolina, Rodrigo, and I walked to the mall for ice cream. Mmmm cookies and cream. On the walk there, we saw a pololo! A pololo is a boyfriend, but it is also the name for this kind of bug.

My pololo. :)

And in the mall, there were these elf cutouts so of course I had to take a picture. It doesn't even seem like Christmas is so close. Where's the SNOW!???!

After the mall, we had to go to real class... sad. Lenguaje. After class, we realized that the next day we had a chemistry and a math test. Romina, Natalia, Rodrigo, Leo, Nico, and I. We didn't end up studying too much... Instead we ate cherries, took pictures, and talked.

Rodrigo and I:

Romina studying hard.

Nico making fun of Rodrigo's carnet (i.d. card). That's a popular activity here, comparing carnets.

One of the funniest things is when Chileans use their mad English skills. This little girl came around the corner and was greeted by a torment of: "Hello! How are you? CAT! DOG! WINDOW! SHUT THE WINDOW PLEASE! Sit down! Open your book! Nice to meet you! Nice to meet you too! What's your name? How are you? I'm very dog." And then we had her sit down with us and we had a normal conversation in Spanish. And then she took a picture with me.

Leo and I :) Look Leo! Here you are! On my blog!!

You know... being gangsters and stuff.

Yesterday was Thursday and I did the dialogue again for English class. There were about 40 ten-year-olds and they didn't understand a word of English. hahaha. The dialogue went well.

And then I had to talk about myself for a few minutes. And that was kind of a train wreck. I didn't have a powerpoint or anything and I didn't know what to say. But after that... another student asked a few questions to the kids and they could answer and get candy. The directions were in English and so they didn't understand what they had to do. The first one was "who is the president of Chile?" After I leaned back and whispered "quien es el presidente de Chile?" they timidly raised their hands and said Piñera. A couple questions later, when they got the hang of it, the question was "who is the president of the U.S.? And then all 40 kids were yelling "Yo sé! OBAMA! OBAMA! OBAMA!" I was laughing so hard!

I had a math test, which went terribly. I knew the information and I understood all the homework, but I could not for the life of me, understand what the questions wanted. Plus we didn't have a lot of time for all of the work. UGH. Then, I went to chemistry where there was a test. But the teacher gave me one and said "just for you to have..." so I didn't do it. I like her. :)

After school I taught the English material to Rodrigo, Natalia, and Valery. That was fun. Prepositional phrases, which the name itself they can't pronounce. hahaha.

And that's what's been going on lately in Chile!