La Vida que Extraño (The Life I Miss)

This week I've been missing a few things that I don't have here in Chile, but only two things have been bothering me: 1) My guitar and 2) Pine Lake Camps.

Seriously, not having my guitar is killing me! My fingernails have grown to be longer than they have been in years and I keep fidgeting all the time! I was Skyping my parents and they were getting a little annoyed with my because I kept tapping the computer and sounded like a raucous! At the time, I couldn't figure out why I was so fidgety and I resorted to sitting on my hand for the remainder of the conversation. But during this week, I slowly began to notice my fingers feeling estranged with that lack of instrumentation. I'm almost embarrassed to say it, but when day when I walked by a man playing guitar in the street, I even teared up a little because all I wanted to do was play my guitar! 

But even more trying this week has been the many reminders I've had of PLC. This is the first summer in 5 years that I haven't been on staff and I thought being in another country would distract me to the point of not thinking of it much at all, but such is not the case! I think about camp quite often and so desire to be there serving but I also don't want to leave this new home! Believe it or not, I smelled a campfire the other day and longed for those beautiful nights with campers and stars. I visited a ranch last weekend and upon entering one of the cabins, I was amazed to recognize the scent of Pine Lake cabins in the middle of a dessert valley. And this morning, as I was reading in Psalms, I found a lovely reminder of camp stuck between the pages of those which I was reading: some year-old bugs! That was a little gross, but the redeeming factor was knowing that it was from nowhere else then the camp which I love so much =)

Best of both worlds: Playing guitar at Pine Lake! =)

Needless to say, I'm missing campers and the staff and thinking of the 2013 group so often! But don't get me wrong. I am still loving my time here and not wishing myself away in the least! I am well aware of the struggle it will be to leave when the time comes, but camp is still just so near to my heart! Praise God for the time I was able to spend there over the many years and for all He continues to do through the ministry at Pine Lake!

Like I said, I've still been having grand adventures in this new place, too! Last weekend, I went to El Valle de Lluta which is another part of Arica. One of the Primas lives out there with her family where they run a ranch and restaurant! Pamela took us on a tour of the valley and we got to see some really neat things... and also some very strange and disturbing things!

This guy is an ancient fridge contraption used by the indigenous people! It's made of mud and rocks - I still don't understand how it worked...

We discovered an antique train station and took some fun pictures! Guess which  amiga is from Chile =)

And so, we made an interesting trip to this little town called Eco-Truly. We were looking forward to the adorable, self-sustaining town, and it was great at first! There's a kind of plaza, children's play equipment, gardens, llamas... everything you could ask for in a small town! But after a while, we noticed things were a bit strange up in this area. We came across a display of pictures showing situations of preparing meat, but instead of animals being prepared by humans, it was the other way around! It was really quite disturbing and graphic. I wrestled for some time with the decision of whether or not to take a photo, but opted against it. Even if I had, I wouldn't put the picture online. As it turns out, this is a group of Hare Krishna Hindus who have secluded themselves from society, although they depend on the business of tourism to support their lifestyle in this isolated community. There's plenty more to share about all I learned during my time there, but if I don't stop now it could easily turn into a book!

Excited to enter the Eco Truly Community. At this point, all we knew was that it was a cute little town of its own.

This is one of the Children's play equipment!

"Coma sano; hagase vegetariano" (Eat Healthy; become vegetarian)

 Thankfully, not long after we better understood what we were seeing, we headed off to Ranch Benny which is run by Pamela and her family! We stopped at El Río Lluta for a few photos on the way =) The Ranch is absolutely beautiful and such a great break from the city! It's a very peaceful place and on top of a hill leading towards the mountains which are right behind the family home! We took a short hike up the hill to a cross which was built of rocks by Pamela and her dad. The view was even more spectacular from above! All in all, it was an excellent day and well worth the odd encounters.

El Río Lluta: It looks a bit more like a creek!

View of the Valley from atop the cerro =)

Allison and me looking out over all our eyes could plunder!

The weekends are generally much more exciting than the weeks since we have so much homework to complete, but I am not be deprived of joy and learning (outside the classroom) even so! This week, I learned that my lack of a sweet tooth is even strange in this foreign country. We had a Torta de Tres Dulces (Cake of Three Sweets, for those uncertain!) and I would not try to handle that again unless absolutely necessary! Generally, the food isn't as sweet here as it is in the U.S., but that was pushing it! From time to time, my little brother likes to give me a hard time about taking my tea without sugar. At first he was concerned that maybe it makes me sick, but when he found out I'm just not a huge fan of the taste, it became a subject of teasing =)

Interesting fact I learned this week: It is perfectly acceptable in Chilean culture for a grown man to play with a little girl's hair. Even if they're strangers! This is not considered creeping, but rather endearing. It's so strange to think of the extreme difference that exists between our cultures in that area. But I admire the trust that exists here.

Exciting food I tried this week: Chilean Sushi! Oh my goodness I really enjoy sushi! I just wish it wasn't so expensive!! Although this wasn't entirely legit because Chilean sushi contains beef rather than fish; who knew? Not to worry - I did also eat some fishy sushi =)

Danger for the week: On Wednesday night there began some HUGE protests in Santiago expressing frustration with the expense of education once again. But it didn't stop in Santiago; we had a riot at the UTA including mini bombs, from what I heard. I wasn't there to see any of it (I live a fair distance from the U) but I was well informed not to go near the building as long as I could avoid it! However, in the morning, there wasn't a sign of chaos.

And one last emotion for the week: I'm in a literature class here which I'm really loving. My professor is great and always has great ideas or thoughts to share. Today she was expressing how important it is that we speak Spanish all the time while we're here because when a language isn't used, it's lost. As she was speaking, it dawned on me that I only have four more weeks here! Many of the girls are getting anxious to return home, but I cannot place myself in the same boat. I love living in a place where I get to speak Spanish all the time. I'm going to miss that when it's time to head back. There are a ton of things I'm going to miss. But that just means I need to enjoy it as much as I can while it's here and wait to handle the raw emotions about it all when the day comes.

Man, am I grateful for God's blessing to let me spend my summer in Chile. Funny that I would start this post talking about the things I miss, and close with what I don't want to end. After this trip, I cannot imagine there will ever again be a possibility for me to deny my love for this language and the culture. I pray that my involvement does not end here! But who knows where the Lord will take me in the future. As always, I need to remember to live in the gratefulness for the blessing of today.

Always in Love.

Three Weeks of Classes Down!

Friday I finished up my third week of classes but it has felt like much more considering all the homework we've had! So far, I have written one essay, performed a short play, given one presentation, completed a collective 100 pages of reading and also turned in several small descriptions about places I've visited. And this weekend, I will be working on another presentation due at the beginning of the school week! Phew! It's been a wild ride, but even so, I feel like I've been learning the most outside of classes!

Since my last post, I have eaten a few more typical Chilean foods! Empanadas and Choripon (Chilean brat) are some of the simplest, but I also had a great experience at a Restaurant called "Vardo's" for Father's Day! My mom, brother and I went out to eat with my grandparents to celebrate and I definitely enjoyed the experience =) I started with Pastel Choclo which is like a corn casserole, but underneath is Pino (the combination of typical empanada ingredients!)! My main dish was Pastel de Jaiba (crab) with rice. Tasty =) And then to finish for desert, I ate Moldido de Pan which tasted like bread pudding but in a cake shape. Needless to say, I'm loving the food here!

Working on them choripans while watching a fútbol game (soccer, that is!)

Eating Pastel de Choclo with a taste of Mexican music =)

Family photo on the patio of the restaurant

I loved this restaurant because instead of giving you a menu, they bring the dishes to your table and you get to choose which one you would like! This also makes dining incredibly more difficult than usual because you want to eat ALL OF IT!!! To continue in some family fun, I played Monopoly with my little brother and we also decided to turn it into an English night so he could practice! That was pretty fun and rather special =) When Marcela returned home, we had some failures to communicate with our conversion and translation in languages! 

When I had to get back to real school life, I spent some time working on my essay and my host mom offered to help me out because she is a writer. I can hardly believe the similarity between her teaching/correcting style compared with my mom's! During elementary school, I remember asking my mom to help me out with some papers and she would tell me to make changes that I did not understand, but I wanted to so badly! I'm fairly certain there were many tears because my mind is rather literal; I just want to understand the way everything works! So when I started working with Marcela on my Spanish essay, I once again felt like that 10 year old girl, so confused with the different things that make up a sentence and cause it to sound good! But it also helped me to remember that as I'm trying to grow in my understanding of the language, I cannot be so literal. Often, I try to figure out exact translations for what I want to say, but it's another language with another set of rules, and also a set of exceptions for those rules! I just need to observe and repeat.

But listening has proven to cause me a little bit of trouble as well. Sometimes the things that happen... One night I was reading and came across what seemed to be a familiar word, but I couldn't think of what it was! I had a long discussion with my little brother about its significance but could not figure out what he was saying. After some time, I finally decided to look it up. As it turns out, it was a swear word that I'd been asking him to explain to me! Won't be making that mistake again!

This post is turning out to be a fairly short one since I missed my siesta today and am therefore feeling a strong urge to sleep! But I do believe one of the great things I learned this week is that I was right about the wedding rings! For many women, the band is what's significant, not a gem. Those who have started to wear gems are doing so more as a result of the influence of American culture. So what usually happens is when a woman gets engaged, she is given a thin band (of probably gold or silver) to wear on her right finger. Then when she gets married, she is given a second, thicker band to wear on her left ring finger. Many women continue to wear their engagement right while others choose to save it for their children or put it on a necklace. 

However, they do not double up the bands to place on their left finger upon getting married. The reason? If someone is married and their spouse died, they continue to wear their wedding ring. Later, if they are to remarry, that is when they will have a double band; one from the first spouse and another from the current spouse. But the amazing thing is that diamonds are not a big deal here! And that is just a joy to my heart =)

I'm not Home-schooled. You Can Tell by the Way I Haven't Posted in a Week.

School has officially begun! And once it did, my life became much busier here and I quickly remembered why I was hesitant to start a blog - it's a time commitment! But I think Chile - and maybe classes - may need to take precedence! Tuesday last week was my first day and I had classes through Thursday. Those first few days were somewhat of a roller coaster! Only my written Spanish professor speaks English, but he's still only supposed to talk in Spanish while teaching. My literature professor is absolutely wonderful! She has been very patient and willing to speak much slower to make sure we all understand what she's saying in class. And she's really just a fun lady anyways, so I believe that's going to be my favorite class =)

The entrance to La Universidad de Tarapacá, 

Then there's my culture class... this professor doesn't speak English and hardly even tries to speak slower! The people of Chile are known for being the fastest Spanish speakers, so it's good practice! If I can understand her, I should be able to understand anyone! But I still don't quite catch everything, so it's been a little tough. The content of the class is quite wonderful! Both Sundays since being here, we've taken mini excursions to some different locations important to the culture of Chile and I have really enjoyed these! Yesterday, we went to a museum where we saw the most ancient mummies! Quite interesting, to be sure. After that, we visited a plantation where there are grown all kinds of fabulous fruits and a whole ton of olives!  Guayabas (Guavas) are very popular here, and the people say that once someone tastes it, they will never leave! So I guess we´ll have to see if I make it to the return flight in July ;) The land was absolutely beautiful and the gentleman who showed us around was incredibly friendly. In Arica, there aren't often tourists, so seeing a white person is a pretty big deal! And because of that, the Aricans really want to make a good impression, so many of them are incredibly willing to go out of their way for us which is very sweet!

A guayaba (guava) at the plantation

We also got to sit on top of a look out and see some of the ancient hieroglyphics of the indigenous people. As I've been learning some of their history and hearing stories, it's been surprising how similar the groups were treated to that of Native Americans. There is definitely a greater preservation of heritage in South America, but there's also been a significant amount of oppression that I never realized. I'm enjoying learning more about the indigenous people and the history that has played such a significant role in developing this community!

The geoglifs (hieroglyphics)  in the side of the mountain

I was also keeping busy during the first week of classes because for some reason, my little brother was no longer able to play his video games. Sad for him, but pretty exciting for me! I took advantage of his boredom and we played some table games, and I also taught him how to play speed! He absolutely loves that one =) The day after, even though his video games were working again, he wanted to play Speed! It was some great bonding time =) Over the days, he also acquainted me with his games a bit, so I've now played SCP because it's too scary for him to play by himself! Oh the things I'm learning in this country =)

Ian and me playing an intense game of Jenga while Mom is taking pictures

On Friday, neither of us had school because July 7th is kinda like the Independence day of Arica! Back in the late 1800s, there was a significant and bloody battle between Peru and Chile for the ownership of Arica. The holiday isn't really celebrated anywhere else, but it was a huge deal here! We had fireworks at midnight on the 7th, a full weekend of carnival and fair-type activities, and there was also a Quecha dance competition during the week leading up to it! It was perfect that we were able to be here to experience the holiday! That day, my grandparents here (Marcela's parents) took us out to eat at a little house restaurant near where they live in Arica. It was a great time and a wonderfully relaxing day after the festivities of the night before =)

Me with Ian and the grandparents at the restaurant

Three generations (Clara, Marcela, Francisco and Ian)

So this week will be my first full week of school! Hopefully... there's an interesting thing that happens here from time to time. Many students at the university feel that it is unjust that they must pay so much money for a college education, so the take over certain building in the school as a form of protest! As of Saturday, the building at the entrance to the school is "en toma." For those who have classes that meet in the building, classes are canceled until it is no longer en toma. I have classes that meet here, but since we're a special group, we also have what is called the "American Corner." It's a room in the library for students studying English, and also American students. So we will continue to have classes there until the other building is no longer occupied! That's the plan as of right now, at least!

Sign on the door entrance to the University - I should have read what it said because now it's a bit difficult to make out!

It's hard to completely summarize this last week (I realize I need to make a stronger effort of posting more regularly!), so I'm going to finish up with just a few brief things!

Things that have intrigued me:

     * In Chile, lighter skin is considered more beautiful, in contrast to our American ideas of using means to attain a darker complexion!

     * So many people keep telling me to put a coat on because they're considered I'm going to get sick! In 65 degree weather. That's nearly freezing here!

     * Although I'd only seen it in old movies, at the stores here, there are baggers and it is expected to leave a tip. We probably shouldn't tell the kids working at Fareway!

Things that just make me happy inside:

     * I love a clean house. And because we live in a desert, my mom cleans the house nearly every day! I've been learning how to help, but this is seriously great!

     * I'm loving the food! Nothing so far has been too strange and I'm gaining an even greater appreciation for the food my dad cooked while I was growing up.

     * I love all the hugs and kisses around here when you meet up with people! This is such an affectionate culture and I am a fan =)

     * Seriously, I still feel like I have some Latin American blood in me hiding out somewhere! In some ways, I fit in better with this culture than I do my own! One more silly thing that just got me all excited: wedding rings. I've long had trouble imagining wearing a ring with any gem atop. It's just not appealing to me! So I've also thought it would be great if it were more socially acceptable for women to simply wear wedding bands, similar to the way men do. Designs are great, but that silly thing poking out just isn't necessary! It's seems like such a hassle, and a very expensive one at that! But here, although there are women who have gems on their wedding bands, many of them do not; they wear a simple band! I like the way these Chileans think =) I still need to ask about it to make sure I'm understanding this right, but even the sight has been encouraging!

Things I'm learning:

     * Where north and south are! I can't believe I was struggling with this for so long; I'm in Chile! There is an ocean on one side and a mountain on the other! But I couldn't figure out where North was?? Not to worry, I haven't had a problem since I realized my folly.

     * The people here are very artistic and expressive of their emotions. As I've been learning more about the goodness in emotions over the last couple years, this has been great for me to be immersed in a culture where I'm encouraged to better understand what I'm feeling and how to express that. But I still have a long way to go!

¡Gracias a Dios por todo que estoy aprendiendo!

No hay un Charco en el Baño (There isn't a Puddle in the Bathroom)

After a day at the beach, I just finished cleaning up! And for the first time since being here, I finally succeeded in taking a shower without creating a puddle on the ground! There are several new things in the bathroom that I'm not used to yet, but I'm starting to get the hang of some of it! For example, in a lot of South America (from what I understand) the plumbing system isn't the greatest, so we put our toilet paper in the trash instead of flushing it down the toilet. This probably won't come as a surprise to you, but I also have to be careful of the water that I use in the bathroom because it's not quite sanitary for me to consume. And probably the most interesting: there is a complicated system for heating the water! Well, maybe not complicated, but definitely more complicated than in the States! We use a gas heater called un califón. The steps are as follows: 

1. Open the gas valve
2. Turn the knob on the califón to a low setting
3. Light a match, push the knob in and light fire to the califón
4. Turn the knob to the maximum setting and you have hot water!
5. After showering, turn everything off. And don't forget to turn off the gas! (This girl is guilty of doing so the first time =/)

One of the program leaders told us that last year there was a student who never knew to ask her family about the califón  so she spent the whole two months taking cold showers! That would be incredibly unpleasant in this weather, let me tell you! I recently wrote a friend about the weather here and here's my lengthy description:

"The weather here is definitely dry. We're in a desert, so no rain for me =( But otherwise it's beautiful! In the mornings, it's usually in the low 60s and cloudy. Then around 10:00 AM it warms up to the high 60s and the sun pops out pretty intensely! Even though the temperature isn't very warm, the sun is incredibly intense and it makes it feel like it's super hot - when you're actually in the sun. Buuut...because we're right along the ocean, the wind is great and makes for a perfect mix! Because it's winter, the sun goes down around 5:00 or 6:00 and then it cools down quite a bit; mid 50s to low 60s. That's a bit chilly for me, but I'll take it over a hot day (or night) anytime!"

It's only the beginning of winter, so it will get chillier as time progresses...

I was keeping pretty busy for my first weekend here! Friday night, we had a dinner with all of the host families and get this: we ate pizza! It was Chilean style which basically meant it had different veggies and such for toppings. Then we were also served Pisco Granadilla, which is a mixed drink. Pisco is a hard liquor that is very popular in Chile - so popular, in fact, that Peruvians won't let you bring it into the country because of the tension between the people groups! And Granadilla, passion fruit, is the type of juice it was poured over. So the families were making sure to culture us for our first real outting! As you can imagine, there are a ton of different sabores, flavors, of pisco here. That night we also had cake to celebrate the birthday of one of our Gringas!

In an earlier post I shared more about our first night at a discoteca which was also that same night. I slept most of Saturday morning and our family had breakfast at 11:30 AM! Marcela and I spent several hours conversing in the garden and that was incredible. I can definitely see God's hand in placing me with her because we have so many similarities and often things that she shares with me are right in line with what God has taught me, especially in this last semester of some intense self-discovery! 

Probably the greatest point she was sharing with me was about the typical perspective we, as humans, have on dating. Seriously, this is crazy to me that God can use a lady from an entirely different hemisphere to confirm that He is working in my life and teaching me things that can so often be counter to my culture! I don't even know how we got onto the topic, but Marcela explained that usually what happens is we make a mental list of what we expect in a partner. Guilty. Then anytime we meet someone or get to know them, we decide whether or not we can spend the rest of our life, doing life together with that person depending on our list. Again, guilty. Instead of helping us, this hinders us from getting to know the person and learning how we interact with them. We become so consumed with our list that we forget to pay attention to what's happening within us! So it's more a matter of the mind than of the heart. 

This limits us in both areas, though. If a person doesn't match our list and we write them off we may be missing out on someone we connect with. And in the other case, just because someone matches every aspect of that list we've made, it doesn't mean that you're going to connect with them on a heart level. The way Marcela described this is that the only true important thing is that someone who is able to be your partner for life must be on the same "frequency" with you. You need to understand the way the other thinks and live with a similar motive in life. You need to connect in the way you think, and not simply in the activities you do/don't do. You could have so much fun passing time with a friend who enjoys all the same things you do, but if your ideas about the big pictures of life aren't on the same frequency, all you can have is a good friendship or shallow physical attraction. And again, you may connect very well with someone on a heart level, sharing many of the same world views and desires for valuable living. But if their specific lifestyle details  and hobbies or interests don't quite match your list, you become very quick to question if this is actually good. If this is the case, you're depending solely on your mind.

Isn't it funny? I seem to remember someone once saying that we need to love with all of our heart and all of our mind. Both. Not separate. Oh! And wasn't that Jesus talking about the most perfect love relationship that exists? That between Him and His Father? And that which He encourages us to have with the Father? What a beautiful picture and example (Matthew 22:37)! One that we seem to forget so often and separate from our human relationships which were created to reflect the love between Christ and the Father; Christ and His Bride. That list becomes a veil that prevents us from loving others - you can apply this to all relationships, not just partnerships.

Now imagine all of that conversation happening in broken Spanish! Phew! It was quite the afternoon to be sure, and that was only part of it =) But so great! 

Saturday night the gringas had a party with our primos (the word in Spanish means "cousins," but we are using it for our conversation partners). My prima still hadn't shown up by that night, so I was a bit disappointed for some time. As it turns out, my prima left the English program at the university, so I was prima-less. Buuut...to my joy, I was given a new primo whose name is Ruben! We were able to spend quite some time talking and it was so great because I would talk to him in Spanish and then he would respond in English. This will be great for both of us to practice this summer =)

At the party, we ate hot dogs - two nights in a row of what seemed to be American food! But una completo chileno is quite a bit different. Instead of our usual toppings, a completo chileno has avocado, tomatoes and mayonnaise on top! I wouldn't say they're my favorite, but I do like them more than the ones I'm used to!

On Sunday, we went on a mini excursion in the city of Arica for the morning, which last until about 2:00 PM here. We got to see el Morro, las playas corazones, el catedral Colón y one other beach on the Pacific! What beautiful places! There are pictures on Facebook, but I'm still working on figuring out this blog dealio...

I didn't make it to church yesterday because my family doesn't attend, but I'm hoping to find a place for next weekend! It's a little difficult to figure out this church thing in a completely different culture with a different language and all!

Today we had a short orientation at the university where we will be studying and then hit the beach for most of the afternoon. And tomorrow begins my first official day! But it starts at 8:00 AM - this will be something else as I've been getting used to late nights and late mornings! Interesting fact that they don't teach you in Spanish class: in Latin cultures, even though they are very relaxed with their time and schedules, they are very punctual for school and work. I will experience this one first hand tomorrow! I'm looking forward to the new adventure =)

Invasión de la Fotografía

When I was pretty young, I remember absolutely loving pictures. My mom had so many photo albums and I enjoyed watching her put them together. I took careful note of her system and looked forward to the day I could have my own.   I started saving pretty early (we're talking about age 8 or 9) to buy my first camera! You know - back when there was actual film and they were fairly cheap... It was something I enjoyed quite a lot! I was always the person you could count on to have a camera at my side. There was never actually science and skill involved, just enjoyment! But I hoped that maybe one day...

Unfortunately, the first year I was a camp counselor, I kinda lost my photo touch. When I started out I was still taking a lot of photos, but I realized how difficult it was to care for 9 little girls and also take fun pictures all the time! I don't regret my decision to focus on the girls, but I do wish I had not let that first summer set a trend for the next four years. It is such a rare thing for me to take photos anymore simply because I feel likes it's too much of a hassle! But for this trip, I have to meet some requirements - and taking pictures is one of them. So it's been a little interesting but also exciting. 

During this last semester of school, I spent a lot of time reflecting on different things about me, especially trying to understand what the things are that I truly enjoy even if they haven't been a part of my life for a while. As I prepared for Chile with the anticipation of this "photo expectation," I started asking God to give me a better understanding of this interest or pastime as well. I expect this summer to give me a lot of perspective changes but I still don't know what those will be! For today, I'm starting to see a trend with the photography.

As it turns out, my mom is a photographer as one of her jobs. The first day here, I had quite a bit of fun trying to figure out different angles and such in her beautiful garden! Last night as I was talking with my primo (yes, I now have a primo!) he also mentioned that he would have loved to take classes for photography because it's one of his greatest interests, but it's not as easy to do so here. After last night, I started to feel a little bit like this was too much to be a coincidence. Then today, we made an excursion to several significant locations in Arica and I was absolutely loving taking pictures! I haven't felt that in such a long time, but it was fantastic! We didn't have as much time as I wanted though, so I still hope to return to take more another time!

I'm not sure what significance this holds in my life, but I'm so grateful to have that job rekindled =) I can't even explain how much I have missed it and simply wished it would return over the last several years! Jesus is good =) I praise God for the times He is willing to bless me with those little things, just because He can and to once again remind me of His love. I needed that today! I don't know what tomorrow brings, but I am enjoying my interest for the time!

Bailar Traves de la Mañana

So much has happened over the last couple of days that I have had a very difficult time deciding what to write about! Hopefully I'll get better at this as I spend more time here!

Last night, we went to our first discoteca (club) in Chile. Dancing is one of my favorites, so I was very excited! And it was definitely a good time, but a very new scene in many ways. One of the most obvious: I left early at 3:00 in the morning! When the college kids in America are leaving the clubs, the Chileans are only starting their night! After finishing off our drinks, we were then able to enter the dance floor. The Americans were the first ones to get on the dance floor and it seemed odd that no one else was joining us! But after a while, we left the floor and then the Latinos flooded the floor. They dance so much smoother than we do so they probably thought we were crazy while we were jumping around out there!

There was plenty that happened before we made it to last night, though! Thursday evening - my first full day in Arica - we went to el Centro which is like the main place here. If you know Downtown Iowa City, that's comparable to el Centro, but el Centro is much larger! While we were there, we me our primos (conversation partners from the University). Unfortunately, mine wasn't there, so I still haven't met him/her! Hopefully I will tonight when we have a party with the Gringas and our primos =) That night at el Centro was supposed to be much longer, but we had some problems getting our money exchanged, so we still didn't have any pesos to do much! We did grab "dinner" at 9:30 and I was so excited for a kebbab! I had one my very first night in Spain several years ago and it was fantastic. The ones here still taste good, but I prefer the Spanish kebbabs! However, there is still a lot of great food I've been able to eat here and I'm excited to try more!

For example, my mom took me and my little brother to a house restaurant on Thursday afternoon for lunch (at 2:00). There, we ordered two typical Chilean dishes to share and here's the greatest part: each meal included one large plate of the main dish, a salad and bread for the table - only three American dollars! Just a little more pricey than McDonald's but homemade =) This is my kind of country!

After our very long afternoon at el Centro on Friday, I came home for just a couple hours before all the families hosing Gringas met at one of the houses for "dinner." A little before we needed to leave, Mariano, a friend of my family, came to visit and I enjoyed meeting him! He is a friend of my host sister (who I haven't met - she is studying in Santiago) but he still comes to visit Marcela y Ian a veces y cuida para Ian cuando Marcela salga. Ahhh!! This is what happens...I find myself switching back into Spanish when I'm trying to used Enlgish! Translation: sometimes Mariano babysits for Ian when Marcela has different outtings and such. Probably the greatest encouragement while Mariano was here was to hear him and Marcela agree that I speak Spanish very well!

Let me tell you, I have not felt that to be the case. It's been three years since I've had significant practice or education in the language and every day I realize other vocabulary that I've lost and find myself conjugating incorrectly all the time! Marcela has been fantastic about speaking slowly and being patient when I don't understand her or vice versa. But I have just felt awful about how terrible my Spanish has become. So to have them tell me that I speak well was incredibly encouraging and I praise God that He has allowed me to maintain what I have over the last several years and I hope that I improve drastically after this trip!

I need to get going to meet up with our primos, so there will be more to come about my dinner with the host families, conversations with Marcela and other random facts about life in Chile!

Ciao =)