Sunburn, hookie, and homemade fries

Today was so great. I went to my last day of school today (as it turns out, I had one more day than I thought), and was prepared to do absolutely nada. About an hour after doing nothing, my friends and I decided to play hookie instead. We waltzed out the front doors with the Inspector/ Principal man watching, and booked it to the corner. Then we realized we were missing someone... We then went to the Super market to buy potatoes and soda, and walked to a friend's house. We made homemade fries and had a delicious meal together! An hour or two later I was thrown in the pool because I'm a gringa, and therefore make good entertainment. I love my friends so much, I'm sure going to miss seeing them everyday. In the afternoon my friends Rachel, Niko, and Junior went to Rachel's house to swim in her pool. We spent the rest of the day tanning (I burned- even after applying sunscreen 3 times), swimming, and playing tennis. This was such a good day, and even though I'm burnt to crisp, I wouldn't have taken any of it back. It's days like these I live for, and a fantastical way to start off my Summer.

Holy Christmas, Batman!

    I've decided that maybe I should just post something big every month, because I hardly have time to write much! En verdad, I can't just just write every time something happens or changes in my life. I change every day, I feel. Maybe not change, but I find something new about myself, make mistakes, and I learn. For example, all my life I always thought it was wrong to cry in front of people. I was never able to do it, because I didn't want people to think I was a baby, or that I was weak. I guess that's just how I learned it, when I was around guys all the time. I realized yesterday that when ever I feel full of emotion, I instinctively walk away from the situation. Why? Because I don't want people to see me break and see right through me. I thought they would look down on me for crying, or showing that I was angry. But I recently realized that's not how it is. The first times that I broke down in front of my friends, or my host Mom and sister, I expected them to try and make me stop and escape from the sad white girl. I received comfort and love instead; they let me cry all I needed, and assured me that it was okay to do so.
   Now that I've finished talking about my silly emotions, I can tell you what I've been up to! It's almost Christmas! To be perfectly honest, it doesn't feel like Christmas at all. It's hot, there isn't any snow, and I hardly hear Christmas music. When I do, it seems so out of place! I'm happy to be with my host family here and I'm excited to have this experience. With The Holidays comes a whole new roll of emotions (Sorry, I said I was done talking about my emotions. I lied). I've never had a Christmas without snow, and I've never been away from my family. It's hard, I'll tell you that much. I thought it would be easy to spend just one Christmas with another family, but it really isn't. I miss the familiarity of being at home with the decorations around the house, the Christmas lights on the tree, and listening to my Mom's music as I sit in the living room drinking hot chocolate with her. It's things like that I miss the most.
   I have two days of school left until March, so go ahead and be jealous. I almost feel guilty for having so much time off of school! Almost. I switch families in about a month, and in January I'll be going to stay with a family on Easter Island (Go ahead, be jealous again). I'll be on the island for two weeks, and I already know that I'll be taking amazing pictures with this opportunity! I have tentative plans go learn how to surf, and get dreds in my hair.We'll see how things turn out, I guess! The island is really small, but it has so much culture. From what I've heard and seen, it is a lot like Hawaii. If you get the chance, look up pictures of it. It's so beautiful!
   I often catch myself thinking in Spanish, and then feel like a crazy person when it's hard to stop. I suppose that's a good thing. I started reading Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows in Spanish today! I probably miss a lot of the good details, but I know what's happening at least. I feel I'll probably have to re-read it in English later. Now that I believe I've made this a decent read, I think it's time for me to rock out of here. Thank you for reading, and keep up the prayers! I miss and love all of you. (:

Today Is Hump Day!

I love my life. At this exact moment in time, I am completely happy and at peace with everything. I talked to one of my friends today on skype, and only in Spanish. It was weird, because I could understand everything she said, and I didn't have to think about what I wanted to say in English first. It made me feel a whole lot better. And I also talked to two of my favorite people in the entire world today. I also got home from school today, and found a beautiful  package waiting on my bed. I tore it open with glee, and found the American things I have been missing. (:

September-November Photos

I arrived just in time for the Bicentennial on September 18, so I got some pretty wicked photos. I'll have more up soon, I promise!

Ironed Undies

Today I have been in Chile for exactly two months. It's so hard to believe how fast time flies! I am still getting used to life here, and I learn new things about people, culture, and myself everyday. To list all of the differences between the two cultures would be close to impossible. After two months, I feel changed. In ways that are more obvious, and in others that I wouldn't be able to put a finger on. I often feel younger, but at the same time I feel as if I've aged much more. I've learned to just let go of things instead of letting them control me. I can't say that I'm more mature now than I was before, but that my maturity level has entirely altered. When I go out in public, I have to always watch my back. This is brand new for me, because Minocqua is so safe, and it's all I've ever really known. I'm getting used to city life, and all the things that go with it. I've learned when it's not safe to make eye contact with anyone on the street, and that's it's not always okay to smile at strangers, even if I think they're just being nice.I now know when it's best  to put on a tougher exterior to protect myself. But it's not all like that. I have so much fun in school, with my host family, and with all of my other exchange friends. I do things with my friends now that I would have thought myself to be too mature for when I started out. Here, it isn't looked at as being immature. It's just that when you're a kid, there isn't any sort of push to grow up too fast. In the US, people are always told to act their age. But to who's standards? I find myself questioning many of the beliefs, ways of life, and limits that define what is, and isn't acceptable in a society. Just becasue it's how you were raised, or how culture defined you, doesn't always make it right. I believe that it's wrong for people to make their closed-minded assumptions and opinions without knowing both sides of the fence.
       One thing I have learned here is how to relax. I feel like I was never really able to do that back home. There was always something that had to get done or somewhere to be. When I thought I was relaxing, I was still thinking about the next thing on my to-do list, and almost felt guilty for sitting down and watching a movie. Everything always had to be on the go, and I had to fit everything into a schedule. It's like I can breathe here! I rarely have anything that I actually have to do. During the week I do need to get up for school, and once a month I have to write a monthly report for Rotary.Really.. that's about it. I love how the weekends are here. The whole family sleeps in on the weekend and just hangs out. We eat lunch together and talk for close to an hour, and sort of make plans spontainiously; no weekend is ever the same! Another thing that got me was how time doesn't really exist here. I love it so much here, even though I have my good days, and my bad days, it all evens out. And if you were wondering about the title I chose for this, yes, my undies do get ironed.