Volleyball: Well I am obviosly playing middle. I'm a good 3 inches taller then the rest of my team mates. I really miss my setter Kimmy! Here we only run high sets, shucks. Practice goes from 4:15-6:30 ish on wednesday, thursday and friday and games are friday or Saturday. So far we have had 4 games and we are are 2-2. My serve is decent most of the time but every once and a while I mess up and my coach gets mad at me. Oops. It really funny when he gets mad at me though because he says something along the lines of "whats up, becky? Whats up?"
My shoulder is doing decently. It's weird not practicing everyday because i have days that it feels stong and days that is feels really weak. I'm trying to use the excersize bands to keep it in shape.
Parties: (hey my mom asked) So there are "carretes" and "juntas". A carrete is a party, party. Lost of people and soda and snacks. The drinking age is 18 so a party hosted by an 18+ person will most likely have some kind of drinks or people bring their drink. 18- parties usually have parents so if 18+ people bring alcohol it is brought it a small backpack. a Junta is a group of 6-10 people just hanging out. There is normally more food. Like snacks, sandwiches/pizza, and cake.
My birthday is in 2 weeks. I am planning my party. Right now what I think I'm going to do is invite a small group of girlfriends over for cake (which my friend is making for me) at 9-ish (like a junta) and then invite everyone else over at 10:30ish for the "carrete" part. I'll post about how it goes.
Movies: Movies don't come into theaters until like a good month (or MORE!) here. Alice in Wonderland is a special case because of the terremoto but it will be coming out the 13th(-ish) of May. I am really excited. Movies are also really cheep here. some thearters charge as low as $1.500 pesos which is $3.00 USD!!!
Weather: I have decided that I prefer when it is cold and it snows because it feals like the is an actual purpose to it being so freaking cold. Here it is cold, coLD, COLD, expecially in the morning, and without a purpose ie: no snow. I went to buy the school sweats today but they had run out. I have no idea how I will make it through the winter in a skirt. I hope I will be buying leggings soon though...
Food:
some one asked me on form spring:"what are empandas?"
Empandas are a typical chilean food. They look a lot like smaller calazones (the italian pizza folded in half). They are bake or fried and the most common fillings are cheese, pino and mariscos. My favorite are the baked pino. Pino is a mix of ground beef, hard boiled eggs and olives. yummy. =D
Also porotos are a super common food here. I heard the best frase today "soy más Chileno que un poroto" which means "I'm more Chilean then kidney beans". hahahaa. I'm my house we have eaten a soup with kidney beans, corn and potates multiple times and it is delicious!
Mayo: It is so common here. Of course it is probably more common anywhere in the world apart from my house. My mom makes a mayo and that is really the only time I eat mayo. Here it is if you want to try:
put 2 eggs in a blender. start the motor and slowly pour in vegtable oil. it takes about 5 minutes to get enough oil in the mix to get a mayo consistency. you will have to help the bender out with a spoon just don't put the utensil too low, you don't want bits of spoon in your mayo. Once it gets to a good consistency put in 1/2 a lemon(just the juice should i add) and some salt.
sorry i don't have ammounts. most recipies here are not make with ammounts. Like pan amansado. the only thing i know for sure is that there was 2 packets of levandura, a powered yeast, a hella lot of flour, some kind of butter that wasn't butter, salt, and water.
Monday, April 26, 2010
Sunday, April 25, 2010
What do you want to do on your first day back in BOULDER!!???
wow that is such a good question. go for a hike? party?
Actually i have a feeling that the first day I get back I will be starting volleyball. ahahaha.
But i think going for a hike (one w/ family and one w/ friends) is at the top of my list @ the moment.
Monday, April 19, 2010
Please tell us about the Tour of the Presidential Palace. Did you have to get special permits? Go though metal detectors? Did you go on the weekend? Was the China exhibit traveling? At a museum? You and Ignacia look cute in your "costume"
Well I really don't know exactly how it happened but before we entered the Moneda my papá made a phone call and when we walked in to the office of the carabineros the men there knew exactly who my dad was. We didn't go through metal detectors, get our bags checked or get patted down. It was Sunday so the Moneda was empty. We only saw one other person and she was arranging flowers. The tour was really cool because we were told where the original building was and what was added on. My favorite parts were in the old building. There was a coat room leading to a waiting room which then lead to the meeting room, all of which is still used!
We also got to walk up to where the President (now Piñera if you didn't kno) works. While we were in this room the security person called to make sure we were authorized and everything because he saw us in his little monitor.
The exibit on China was a traveling exibit and I'm pretty sure it is there until the end of May. It was so much smaller then the exibits that come to the Denver Muesum but it was still set up very well and was enjoyable (AND I understood a TON!).
Sunday, April 18, 2010
Getting to know more of Chile
Thursday:
VALPARAÍSO! VIÑA DEL MAR! REÑACA! CON-CON! We woke up at the same time as we do for school but we just dropped off Sebatian at school and then continued on a hour and a half drive to Valparaíso. I went to bed after we passed through the sunny cerros (hills)
and woke up just outside of the very very foggy Valparaíso
. We drove through the center of the beautiful town very quickly so it was next to impossible to take photos but I got a foto of the first glance of the ocean! 
We parked (on the sidewalk by the way) and walked over to where all the barcos (ships) were docked. At first we were not allowed in (you need to be part of an athorized group) but my papá has a many connections with the right people so we ended up entering un "the delegation of Denver, Colorado". Whatever, it worked. There were ships from all over the world: Uruguay, Holland, Brazil, Mexico, to name a few, but the most elaborate and beautiful was Esmeralda- the Chilean barco of course. 
After an hour or two of looking at the ships we left and headed North. It is only about a 15 min drive to Viña del Mar (w/o traffic). We didn't get to walk around Viña unfortuantly but I saw the building that Sebastian was in during the earthquake (on the 11th floor) sooo terrifying. We continued north to Reñaca. This town in the summer is even more of a party town then Viña. All the Argentinians and students rent these crazy apartments and go to the beach and go clubbing. Maybe for (colorado) winterbreak my Colorado parents will let me rent a place there and i can invite some Chile friends to join me for a few days.....
There we saw so people surfing. And by the way it was still foggy and just as cold. From there the next town north is Con-Con which is like a mecca for empanda resturants. The resturant that I was told has the best empandas was closed so we went to a different resturant, I would have picked to got to one of the hole-in-the-wall restuants for empanadas but papá picked a nice (more expensive) resturant. The empandas here were good but definatly not amazing (they were the deep-fried kind rather then the baked ones that I like better). From here we headed home arriving back at about 4. I took a quick nap while we waited for Sebatian to get home and then we left at about 5:30 for Santiago for a mass and dinner with the family of my papá. This didn't end until about 10:30/11 and we did have school the next day.....
Friday
During school it started to rain. There was i huge trueno (thunder clap) and the lights actually went off. Ignacia's class thought is was a earthquake so they all ran outside screaming. Smart, hun.
After school I had a volleyball game. We won again but in 3 sets not 2. Next week we will win in 2.
Right after that I took the bus to my friends house for a "meeting" with my curso. I guess they had been really worried about me because they thought I would arrive earlier so I had like 10 missed calls. opps. After I changed and had something to eat I headed off to a CVX meeting with Juampi on the bus. My mamá was so surprised that i was entirely cool with taking the micro that much friday but it is really easy. During the CVX meeting i was falling asleep and so I decided that it was not the best idea to go parting because Sebatian wasn't going anyway.
Because it had rained that basically means that every one makes sopapillas. Wow thats not spelled right.... Unfortualy since I got home so late I didn't get the fresh ones but they were still delicious.
Sat
A very lazy day. Very. I actually did homework i was so bored. jajaja
Sunday
Woke up at 10 had breakfast and then headed off to Santiago. Sebatian didn't join us because he was working on something for his class. We got a private tour of the Moneda because my papá used to be high up in the police force so he has connections. It is such a beautiful building inside. here are a few fotos:
We also went to a new-ish museo where there was an exibit about China. I was so happy about this because I had been trying to teach Ignacia a bit about China since that is our theme for the alianza. After that we got in the car and drove in to the cerros (hills) the the expencive part of Santiago. We went to a mall and basically just looked for a place to eat that wasn't there. At 4 we ended up leaving and stopping at a gas station that made sandwiches for lunch. Not the best but my stomach definatly welcomed the food. Thats about it for today.
VALPARAÍSO! VIÑA DEL MAR! REÑACA! CON-CON! We woke up at the same time as we do for school but we just dropped off Sebatian at school and then continued on a hour and a half drive to Valparaíso. I went to bed after we passed through the sunny cerros (hills)
and woke up just outside of the very very foggy Valparaíso
. We drove through the center of the beautiful town very quickly so it was next to impossible to take photos but I got a foto of the first glance of the ocean! 
We parked (on the sidewalk by the way) and walked over to where all the barcos (ships) were docked. At first we were not allowed in (you need to be part of an athorized group) but my papá has a many connections with the right people so we ended up entering un "the delegation of Denver, Colorado". Whatever, it worked. There were ships from all over the world: Uruguay, Holland, Brazil, Mexico, to name a few, but the most elaborate and beautiful was Esmeralda- the Chilean barco of course. 
After an hour or two of looking at the ships we left and headed North. It is only about a 15 min drive to Viña del Mar (w/o traffic). We didn't get to walk around Viña unfortuantly but I saw the building that Sebastian was in during the earthquake (on the 11th floor) sooo terrifying. We continued north to Reñaca. This town in the summer is even more of a party town then Viña. All the Argentinians and students rent these crazy apartments and go to the beach and go clubbing. Maybe for (colorado) winterbreak my Colorado parents will let me rent a place there and i can invite some Chile friends to join me for a few days.....
There we saw so people surfing. And by the way it was still foggy and just as cold. From there the next town north is Con-Con which is like a mecca for empanda resturants. The resturant that I was told has the best empandas was closed so we went to a different resturant, I would have picked to got to one of the hole-in-the-wall restuants for empanadas but papá picked a nice (more expensive) resturant. The empandas here were good but definatly not amazing (they were the deep-fried kind rather then the baked ones that I like better). From here we headed home arriving back at about 4. I took a quick nap while we waited for Sebatian to get home and then we left at about 5:30 for Santiago for a mass and dinner with the family of my papá. This didn't end until about 10:30/11 and we did have school the next day.....
Friday
During school it started to rain. There was i huge trueno (thunder clap) and the lights actually went off. Ignacia's class thought is was a earthquake so they all ran outside screaming. Smart, hun.
After school I had a volleyball game. We won again but in 3 sets not 2. Next week we will win in 2.
Right after that I took the bus to my friends house for a "meeting" with my curso. I guess they had been really worried about me because they thought I would arrive earlier so I had like 10 missed calls. opps. After I changed and had something to eat I headed off to a CVX meeting with Juampi on the bus. My mamá was so surprised that i was entirely cool with taking the micro that much friday but it is really easy. During the CVX meeting i was falling asleep and so I decided that it was not the best idea to go parting because Sebatian wasn't going anyway.
Because it had rained that basically means that every one makes sopapillas. Wow thats not spelled right.... Unfortualy since I got home so late I didn't get the fresh ones but they were still delicious.
Sat
A very lazy day. Very. I actually did homework i was so bored. jajaja
Sunday
Woke up at 10 had breakfast and then headed off to Santiago. Sebatian didn't join us because he was working on something for his class. We got a private tour of the Moneda because my papá used to be high up in the police force so he has connections. It is such a beautiful building inside. here are a few fotos:
We also went to a new-ish museo where there was an exibit about China. I was so happy about this because I had been trying to teach Ignacia a bit about China since that is our theme for the alianza. After that we got in the car and drove in to the cerros (hills) the the expencive part of Santiago. We went to a mall and basically just looked for a place to eat that wasn't there. At 4 we ended up leaving and stopping at a gas station that made sandwiches for lunch. Not the best but my stomach definatly welcomed the food. Thats about it for today.
Saturday, April 17, 2010
How does Ignacia like the new Rat-a-tat-Cat game? Any more Volleyball games? Have you felt any more quakes? A big one in Western China
I heard about the big wone in China but no one could really tell me more. Ignacia likes the game a lot! thanks mom for sending it! I had a volleyball game yesterday and we won so now we are 2-2. Yesterday there was a huge thunderclap and some people swear that there was a tremble along with it but I didn't think so.
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
Have you dreamt in Spanish yet?
yes! but I don't remember what my dreams were about and if they are in spanglish or pure spanish....
Monday, April 12, 2010
April 6th-12th
Tuesday
4AM I woke up sick. I quietly went to the bathroom, brushed my teeth, and went back to bed. I only got to sleep another hour before I got sick again. This time I tuned on my light because I though it was 6:20 not 5:20. My papá came in a checked on me and quickly it was decided that I would not be going to school. I was dissapointed except for the fact that I got to sleep. And sleep I did. I woke up for lunch, to pick up Ignacia, dinner and to pack.
Wednesday
Felt better! But still I didn't have milk for breakfast. (Usually I have ceral with some fruit). This day was "Jean Day". This means that students can wear street clothes but they have to pay for this. 500 pesos which is like $1 USD but like 5 pieces of chocolate....
But I wore normal clothes and paid so I wouldn't have to change in school before I left for the AFS orientación. at 11:45 I peaced along with Daniel, the exchange student from Australia in IV medio (the grade above me). My dad then drove us to San Bernando to pick up the three others in our region and from there we went to Santiago where we were dropped off at a nun convent where the AFS orientación took place.
AFS ORIENTACION
We were one of the first people to arrive. We started off talking mostly Spanish in the car on the way down there and continued this for the first hour or so when we arrived. After that the rest of the students arrived. And all at once might I add. In total there were 56 students. I got annoyed that there was that much ingles being spoken but it was still great to talk to my fellow exchange students. The orientacion focused on incorperating the AFS mission in our experiences entonces we split into groups and each were assigned a part of the mission statement. My groups was Comunicación. That night we made some posters about our topic and shared it with the group. Thursday the activities were prety much the same. We slept in small dorm rooms and had a bathroom with a shower like they have on cruises and with out soap but still, we kept warm and fairly clean. FRIDAY was great! We woke up at 8:15 again had breakfast and then seperated into the the "newbies" and the students who had already been here for 8 months (which was about 10 kids including Daniel). The newbies got to learn the Cueca. This is the nacional dance of Chile. It was really fun even though I truely sucked. I just don't have rythem in my head but still! After that we were allowed to paint out pañuelos. And just to add giving a large group of teens paint is just about the same as giving the same paint to a group of pre-schoolers.....
We finished up at 3 after a group photo. On my facebook i have the picture with almost everyone taged if you are interested.
My mom asked if there were any other exchange students who went to build houses. One or two of the students who have been here 8 months went November-ish but none since the earthquake as far as I know. (BRAGGING RIGHTS!)
FRIDAY
Daniel's mom picked us up and dropped me off at school for volleyball practice. After practice I waited for Sebatian (which ended up being about an hour wait) at school because he had gone with the 8th graders to help with their "Friendship Camp". I guess it is a really big deal. There are about 3 through out the year and this was the first. Once Sebastian got to school we went directly to the CVX meeting. I was so tired ( and a bit sick) and I almost ended up falling asleep while we were talking. A girl in my class had a party that i really wanted to go to but I was so tired and Sebatian wasn't going because he had practice in the morning.
SAT
I needed to be at school at 8:30 for a volleyball game. We won!!! Finally!! After that I watched the bball game. The "varsity" team is overall like a sophmore level but it was still fun to watch. Sebastian and I then took the bus home (it's my 3rd or 4th time and I think I can do it on my own now). After a wonderful shower, lunch and the shortest nap ou could imagen i went to drop off Ignacia at a birthday party. I thought it would be a half an hour and i could go home and get ready for the futbol game and for the birthday party that night but it was much farther. What ended up happening is I told mamá what clothes to thro in a bag, Max brought them to his girl friends house (the birthday girl) where I met up with him, all his companeros in the police school and Sebatian. We watched the game there and then helped Mariana (the girlfriend) get ready for the party. The party was really fun even though there were not a ton of people or dancing. There were some of my friends from school there as well as Mariana's friends from university. Sebastian had set up all his DJ stuff but really just ended up playing a playlist that Mariana had picked out. Papá picked us up at about 4.
SUN
I was woken up for breakfast at 10 ish and then went to bed after breakfast for another hour. I got ready and then we left at 1 for Santiago for a Asado (bbq) with the family of my mamá because an uncle had died a few days ago. I met Guierrmo who lives in Texas and who I have heard a lot about. He was very nice and Luckily talked to me in Spanish and not english. Asados don't usually end until about 7 (just long engough to get hungry again) but we left at 6 and went to the Centro Artesanal de Los Domingos. This is like a big craft/art show that is always open. Most of the stuff is very touristy and expensive. But still there was some beautiful stuff and I need to go back with money!
MON
Today was a normal school day just that every one was asking why I had been absent the WHOLE week before. hahah opps sorry I didn't pre announce it. :b
4AM I woke up sick. I quietly went to the bathroom, brushed my teeth, and went back to bed. I only got to sleep another hour before I got sick again. This time I tuned on my light because I though it was 6:20 not 5:20. My papá came in a checked on me and quickly it was decided that I would not be going to school. I was dissapointed except for the fact that I got to sleep. And sleep I did. I woke up for lunch, to pick up Ignacia, dinner and to pack.
Wednesday
Felt better! But still I didn't have milk for breakfast. (Usually I have ceral with some fruit). This day was "Jean Day". This means that students can wear street clothes but they have to pay for this. 500 pesos which is like $1 USD but like 5 pieces of chocolate....
But I wore normal clothes and paid so I wouldn't have to change in school before I left for the AFS orientación. at 11:45 I peaced along with Daniel, the exchange student from Australia in IV medio (the grade above me). My dad then drove us to San Bernando to pick up the three others in our region and from there we went to Santiago where we were dropped off at a nun convent where the AFS orientación took place.
AFS ORIENTACION
We were one of the first people to arrive. We started off talking mostly Spanish in the car on the way down there and continued this for the first hour or so when we arrived. After that the rest of the students arrived. And all at once might I add. In total there were 56 students. I got annoyed that there was that much ingles being spoken but it was still great to talk to my fellow exchange students. The orientacion focused on incorperating the AFS mission in our experiences entonces we split into groups and each were assigned a part of the mission statement. My groups was Comunicación. That night we made some posters about our topic and shared it with the group. Thursday the activities were prety much the same. We slept in small dorm rooms and had a bathroom with a shower like they have on cruises and with out soap but still, we kept warm and fairly clean. FRIDAY was great! We woke up at 8:15 again had breakfast and then seperated into the the "newbies" and the students who had already been here for 8 months (which was about 10 kids including Daniel). The newbies got to learn the Cueca. This is the nacional dance of Chile. It was really fun even though I truely sucked. I just don't have rythem in my head but still! After that we were allowed to paint out pañuelos. And just to add giving a large group of teens paint is just about the same as giving the same paint to a group of pre-schoolers.....
We finished up at 3 after a group photo. On my facebook i have the picture with almost everyone taged if you are interested.
My mom asked if there were any other exchange students who went to build houses. One or two of the students who have been here 8 months went November-ish but none since the earthquake as far as I know. (BRAGGING RIGHTS!)
FRIDAY
Daniel's mom picked us up and dropped me off at school for volleyball practice. After practice I waited for Sebatian (which ended up being about an hour wait) at school because he had gone with the 8th graders to help with their "Friendship Camp". I guess it is a really big deal. There are about 3 through out the year and this was the first. Once Sebastian got to school we went directly to the CVX meeting. I was so tired ( and a bit sick) and I almost ended up falling asleep while we were talking. A girl in my class had a party that i really wanted to go to but I was so tired and Sebatian wasn't going because he had practice in the morning.
SAT
I needed to be at school at 8:30 for a volleyball game. We won!!! Finally!! After that I watched the bball game. The "varsity" team is overall like a sophmore level but it was still fun to watch. Sebastian and I then took the bus home (it's my 3rd or 4th time and I think I can do it on my own now). After a wonderful shower, lunch and the shortest nap ou could imagen i went to drop off Ignacia at a birthday party. I thought it would be a half an hour and i could go home and get ready for the futbol game and for the birthday party that night but it was much farther. What ended up happening is I told mamá what clothes to thro in a bag, Max brought them to his girl friends house (the birthday girl) where I met up with him, all his companeros in the police school and Sebatian. We watched the game there and then helped Mariana (the girlfriend) get ready for the party. The party was really fun even though there were not a ton of people or dancing. There were some of my friends from school there as well as Mariana's friends from university. Sebastian had set up all his DJ stuff but really just ended up playing a playlist that Mariana had picked out. Papá picked us up at about 4.
SUN
I was woken up for breakfast at 10 ish and then went to bed after breakfast for another hour. I got ready and then we left at 1 for Santiago for a Asado (bbq) with the family of my mamá because an uncle had died a few days ago. I met Guierrmo who lives in Texas and who I have heard a lot about. He was very nice and Luckily talked to me in Spanish and not english. Asados don't usually end until about 7 (just long engough to get hungry again) but we left at 6 and went to the Centro Artesanal de Los Domingos. This is like a big craft/art show that is always open. Most of the stuff is very touristy and expensive. But still there was some beautiful stuff and I need to go back with money!
MON
Today was a normal school day just that every one was asking why I had been absent the WHOLE week before. hahah opps sorry I didn't pre announce it. :b
Did you know a lot of spanish before you went to chile?? and do you think going was worth it?
Well yea i guess I did know a lot of spanish before I came here. I think I started with just about the perfect amount because it was enough to have a basic conversation with someone but an amout that I stick out as a exchange student.
Coming here was worth all the stress and time and everything I am missing in colorado. A year exchange would have been better though...
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
Was your group both high school and college students? Was Techos para Chile set up after the earthquake? or has this group been around for a long time? Sounds amazing what the organization accomplished in a few days.
M group was all high school students, except the "boss" of course. All but one are in my grade and the other one is in the grade above. Un Techo Para Chile was started in '97 by a member of the church and a group of teens.
Monday, April 5, 2010
4 days working in the dirt and heat with out a shower and I would do it again in a heartbeat!
Wednesday March 31st
Today was truely a wacky day. It started of fairly normal: get up, shower, breakfast and off to school. We started the day in the Capilla. the 255 students in La Mision stood on stage to be reconized for what we were going to the extended weekend. At 1:00 Sebastian and I left Chemistry (this is our one class together) to go home and get ready to leave. Before I had thought I was going to work in San Fernando. But no. I got two or 3 emails that I would be going to Chimbarongo. The organization Techos Para Chile is not the most organized. Sebastian was super frustrated because at school his name was on list for a town but he had not recieved an email. At 4:30 we left to got the the university where we would meet up with the other zillions of students going to work. we didn't leave there until about 8 which was about the same time I figured out where I was headed. The only other students in my class who were going to Chimbarongo were Gonzalo and Ismael but there were about 10 students from La Misión in total. On the way to Chimbarongo we stoped in Parke O'Higgins to meet up with another 1000 people who were participating in Techos para Chile. The founder of the organization gave a speech which was fabulous. He basically said to always be animated and never be negative because we are all forntuante enough to have our homes and these people who we are working with are not. I started off sitting next to Nicol but I Ismael asked me to come back to introduce me to a friend so I ended up sitting next to Tomas and talking the whole 2.5 hour drive to Chimbarongo. We didn't end up arriving until about 1:00. We slept in a school that is for students to sleep in. I sleept in the top bunk next to my friends from school. The rules were announced: No sex, no carretes and no buying (anything). Also We were told that we were not allowed to use the showers, at all. We ended up going to bed at about 2:30.
Thursday Abril 1st
OH! I just realized I missed April Fools Day! Oh well. It would have been difficult to explain anyway. We were woken up a 7:20 and headed off to breakfast in the other part of the school a few blocks away which was bread and jam with warm milk. My cuadrilla (group) then met up and we walked about 30-45 minutes to the house where we would be working. Before:
There was 7 people in my cuadrilla (group) which consisted of 3 guys (including the "boss") and 3 other girls.
The main activity was to dig holes and put in the bases (pilotes). we put in 16. it was not the easiest of work. We had help from the men of the house though. Once we finished we ate lunch which was rice and tuna patties and then continued working. We laied down the pre-made piso (floor) nailed that down. We had once (tea) at about this time and then finished up but putting the walls up. At about 8 we left our house to go help another group who had mis meausred by about 6 cenimeters so we heled them change around the floor a bit. We drove back (in the back of a truck) ate dinner and went to bed after a lot of talking.
Friday Abril 2nd
Woke up at seven, breakfasted, walked to the house and started working. It was a easy day because we weren't rushed at all. We worked on the roof until 8.
While I was sitting on the roof I got stung by a bee(it didn't hurt but in the morning it was a bit swollen and itched). Then we had the most amazing lunch. We had brought spagetti for to cook but the Tía had made something else: Empanadas de mariscos, pezcado frito AND sopa de mariscos. It was the first time I had eaten sea food in Chile and it was amazing! After lunch we put on the filtrio and the metal roofing. Done!
When we got back we ate dinner and after dinner I pulled out my cuaderno to write the "constuction" words. After that it became the center of attention and now i have mulitple pages of drawings and many more random words.
3 de Abril
Again woke up early, ate breakfast and got ready to leave. The new house was much farther away this time ie we could not walk there. The bus that was taking students to the houses over there was full so my group had to wait for another bus. We didn't end up leaving until about 10:15 and then to make things even better we got quite lost. The truck was heading south but we really needed to go north. We did no end up starting until about noon.
At this house we did not have as much help but the family was just as, if not more, amazingly nice. The tío was much older then the men at the other house so he couldn't do the same amount of physical labor that the men at the other house did. Also there was a boy who is 12 and he was super nice. We ended up talking a lot and he helped us a bit too. The little girl was so adorible. Her name is Tamara which is the name of one of the girls in my group. I worked like a man this day. We had to make 15 hole to put the bases and I made 3.5 basically on my own and helped out with others breaking and removing rock with the chuso (a long heavy metal rod, I don't know its name in english). We worked till about 8 and then took the bus back to the school.
4 de Abril
Again an early start but this time my group was the first to leave rather then the last. We started working at 9 in the morning. We started the day with 14 of the 15 pilotes (foundation poles) in and finished at about 8. I was extremly exausted but kept working and did not pull out my camera until the night. We had troubles finishing the door. It woudln't close so we needed to take out all the hinges and re-do it all. I was finding it really easy to put in the screws so I offered to finish, which I did. Bu it was very difficult because tía brought out Empanadas de pino when I was about half way done. At least it made for a very rewarding finish.
By this time I was freaking nasty. It I had wanted to I could have easily had dreadlocks because my hair was it perfectly seperated curls that jus needed a bit more knotting and grime to become dreds.
During the 2.5 hour bus ride I ended up siting next to the same guy I sat with on the way there but we slept most of the time rather then talked. I guess while I was sleeping on the bus there was a very strong tremble. But I didn't feel a thing. Actually there were many trembles during Semana Santa. Sebatian felt them all where he was (he was actually sitting on the wall when one happened) but I guess I was too exausted to feel anything.
When I got home I took one of the best showers of my life, ate dinner, wrote a quick note to Ignacia because I would not see her in the morning, and crashed. The easter bunny had left chocolates in my room and bathroom which Ignacia had nicely put into 4 small piles. ¡Que tierna!
5 de Abril
Didn't go to school. Slept in only till 10:30 ( I swear no matter how tired I am I cannot sleep in). Ignacia had left me a note in resonce to mine. She is so sweet! I went for a quick run and took another amazing shower. I helped mamá clean the car ate lunch and then uploaded photos and facebooked until Igncaia came home. Sebatian had gone to the doctor in Santiago because he had gotten sick during his trip. Thats about it. School tomorrow and then there is an AFS orientation in Santiago wednesday morning till friday afternoon. (For those of you who didn't catch tha only one day of school this week!)
CHAO!!
Today was truely a wacky day. It started of fairly normal: get up, shower, breakfast and off to school. We started the day in the Capilla. the 255 students in La Mision stood on stage to be reconized for what we were going to the extended weekend. At 1:00 Sebastian and I left Chemistry (this is our one class together) to go home and get ready to leave. Before I had thought I was going to work in San Fernando. But no. I got two or 3 emails that I would be going to Chimbarongo. The organization Techos Para Chile is not the most organized. Sebastian was super frustrated because at school his name was on list for a town but he had not recieved an email. At 4:30 we left to got the the university where we would meet up with the other zillions of students going to work. we didn't leave there until about 8 which was about the same time I figured out where I was headed. The only other students in my class who were going to Chimbarongo were Gonzalo and Ismael but there were about 10 students from La Misión in total. On the way to Chimbarongo we stoped in Parke O'Higgins to meet up with another 1000 people who were participating in Techos para Chile. The founder of the organization gave a speech which was fabulous. He basically said to always be animated and never be negative because we are all forntuante enough to have our homes and these people who we are working with are not. I started off sitting next to Nicol but I Ismael asked me to come back to introduce me to a friend so I ended up sitting next to Tomas and talking the whole 2.5 hour drive to Chimbarongo. We didn't end up arriving until about 1:00. We slept in a school that is for students to sleep in. I sleept in the top bunk next to my friends from school. The rules were announced: No sex, no carretes and no buying (anything). Also We were told that we were not allowed to use the showers, at all. We ended up going to bed at about 2:30.
Thursday Abril 1st
OH! I just realized I missed April Fools Day! Oh well. It would have been difficult to explain anyway. We were woken up a 7:20 and headed off to breakfast in the other part of the school a few blocks away which was bread and jam with warm milk. My cuadrilla (group) then met up and we walked about 30-45 minutes to the house where we would be working. Before:
There was 7 people in my cuadrilla (group) which consisted of 3 guys (including the "boss") and 3 other girls. The main activity was to dig holes and put in the bases (pilotes). we put in 16. it was not the easiest of work. We had help from the men of the house though. Once we finished we ate lunch which was rice and tuna patties and then continued working. We laied down the pre-made piso (floor) nailed that down. We had once (tea) at about this time and then finished up but putting the walls up. At about 8 we left our house to go help another group who had mis meausred by about 6 cenimeters so we heled them change around the floor a bit. We drove back (in the back of a truck) ate dinner and went to bed after a lot of talking.
Friday Abril 2nd
Woke up at seven, breakfasted, walked to the house and started working. It was a easy day because we weren't rushed at all. We worked on the roof until 8.
While I was sitting on the roof I got stung by a bee(it didn't hurt but in the morning it was a bit swollen and itched). Then we had the most amazing lunch. We had brought spagetti for to cook but the Tía had made something else: Empanadas de mariscos, pezcado frito AND sopa de mariscos. It was the first time I had eaten sea food in Chile and it was amazing! After lunch we put on the filtrio and the metal roofing. Done!
When we got back we ate dinner and after dinner I pulled out my cuaderno to write the "constuction" words. After that it became the center of attention and now i have mulitple pages of drawings and many more random words.
3 de Abril
Again woke up early, ate breakfast and got ready to leave. The new house was much farther away this time ie we could not walk there. The bus that was taking students to the houses over there was full so my group had to wait for another bus. We didn't end up leaving until about 10:15 and then to make things even better we got quite lost. The truck was heading south but we really needed to go north. We did no end up starting until about noon.
At this house we did not have as much help but the family was just as, if not more, amazingly nice. The tío was much older then the men at the other house so he couldn't do the same amount of physical labor that the men at the other house did. Also there was a boy who is 12 and he was super nice. We ended up talking a lot and he helped us a bit too. The little girl was so adorible. Her name is Tamara which is the name of one of the girls in my group. I worked like a man this day. We had to make 15 hole to put the bases and I made 3.5 basically on my own and helped out with others breaking and removing rock with the chuso (a long heavy metal rod, I don't know its name in english). We worked till about 8 and then took the bus back to the school. 4 de Abril
Again an early start but this time my group was the first to leave rather then the last. We started working at 9 in the morning. We started the day with 14 of the 15 pilotes (foundation poles) in and finished at about 8. I was extremly exausted but kept working and did not pull out my camera until the night. We had troubles finishing the door. It woudln't close so we needed to take out all the hinges and re-do it all. I was finding it really easy to put in the screws so I offered to finish, which I did. Bu it was very difficult because tía brought out Empanadas de pino when I was about half way done. At least it made for a very rewarding finish.
By this time I was freaking nasty. It I had wanted to I could have easily had dreadlocks because my hair was it perfectly seperated curls that jus needed a bit more knotting and grime to become dreds.
During the 2.5 hour bus ride I ended up siting next to the same guy I sat with on the way there but we slept most of the time rather then talked. I guess while I was sleeping on the bus there was a very strong tremble. But I didn't feel a thing. Actually there were many trembles during Semana Santa. Sebatian felt them all where he was (he was actually sitting on the wall when one happened) but I guess I was too exausted to feel anything.
When I got home I took one of the best showers of my life, ate dinner, wrote a quick note to Ignacia because I would not see her in the morning, and crashed. The easter bunny had left chocolates in my room and bathroom which Ignacia had nicely put into 4 small piles. ¡Que tierna!
5 de Abril
Didn't go to school. Slept in only till 10:30 ( I swear no matter how tired I am I cannot sleep in). Ignacia had left me a note in resonce to mine. She is so sweet! I went for a quick run and took another amazing shower. I helped mamá clean the car ate lunch and then uploaded photos and facebooked until Igncaia came home. Sebatian had gone to the doctor in Santiago because he had gotten sick during his trip. Thats about it. School tomorrow and then there is an AFS orientation in Santiago wednesday morning till friday afternoon. (For those of you who didn't catch tha only one day of school this week!)
CHAO!!
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