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ok i lied, i will put pics up on sunday!

much love

A Month Tomorrow

Tomorrow marks the start of my last month here in Chile. It's such an insane feeling, that I absolutely have NO TIME to deal with at the moment. So much has been going on here in Vina, there is never a dull moment!

The snowball started last Tuesday.

I volunteer at a high school and help a teacher with her English class. The kids in there are amazing, and last Tuesday I went out with some of them. I met up with a few girls from class and our teacher. They wanted to show me all Vina had to offer. Unfortunately, some kind of strike is going on here! All of the museums and big parks in Vina were closed. No worries. We hopped into a micro and went over to Con Con which is a town right outside of our city. They have incredible sand dunes that you can actually go surfing on. We walked along the coast, and then at the end we hit up McDonald's. It was my first chicken nugget since the states, and it was absolutely delicious!!

Wednesday my friend Derek and I went to Santa Isabel for fixings for a picnic. Then we hopped on the metro. We agreed that we would ride until one of us saw something awesome. We rode almost until the end of the line when Derek spotted a huge white cross on top of a hill. That was our stop! We got out and hiked our way up to the cross. When we turned around we had the most incredible view ever! We saw mountains and hills as far stretching across in the background behind about every color house imaginable. It was gorgeous! Unfortunately, our adventure was spur of the moment, and we didn't have a camera :(

Thursday Lindsey's best friend Dee was in town, so we all went out dancing. We decided to avoid creepers and just have a blast dancing with our group. It was an amazing night of techno and raggaeton and all other types of music.

Friday we decided to take a day trip to Renaca, which is right outside of Vina as well. We packed our lunches and headed out first thing in the morning. We think our part of the beach is gorgeous, but we found a place even better!! We spent about four hours talking and napping and just soaking up the free time that we know we are going to miss soon. We were walking through the town and found a huge two story Dunkin Donuts. We decided to have a HOME moment, so we went in and each of us picked out a delicious donut. First donut since the states! I got a Boston Creme, and it was absolutely amazing! Now that home is something tangible, I have started rocking the list of things that I must have when I get back :)

Saturday we hit up the Botanical Gardens again for a BBQ with a ton of people from our program along with some Chileans from our Cultures in Contact class. We had so much delicious food! The meat was fantastic, and our German friend Marcel brought German potato salad! It was incredible!! We had guac and all sorts of bread to dip into it. It was a great feast followed by hiking through the gorgeous park. GOOD DAY! Then that night we went over to our friend Orion's house, and we watched movies. I finally saw UP! Aww it was so cute!!

Sunday my family celebrated my host brother's birthday! It was so much fun having my host sister home! Bah. I wish I could spend more time with her! She is so much fun, and since she is studying English, we always have a blast joking about our language issues.

Monday was back to school, but we started watching this really intense Chilean movie about the mines here. We are finally getting into the government here in Chile, and it is so intense! Just the fact that twenty years ago they were under a dictatorship is so hard to wrap my mind around. People here do NOT talk about politics, and it's pretty obvious why! During Pinochet, people were not allowed to speak their mind about anything. Anyone thought to stir up scandal was abducted from their house and killed or tortured. A lot of people fled the country, but there are still thousands of families that have no idea what happened to their loved ones. We are so fortunate to be living in the United States. This experience has definitely shown me how blessed we truly are!

Tuesday was a monumental day here in Chile. Background. CHILE DOES NOT HAVE COOKIE DOUGH. Like ok, packages of cookie dough that you buy and cut and put in the oven, that does not exist. Chile doesn't even have chocolate chips. You can find very small bags of shavings or little chocolate chunks, but there is only one type, no selection. Making cookies here is just impossible. Any cookie you do find here is hard. They do not rock gooey, soft cookies like us the in states. We wanted to make cookies from scratch, but they didn't have any brown sugar. They tried to show us regular cane sugar that was colored brown, but the actual brown sugar that you use for cooking, was not anywhere to be found! FINALLY, when we thought all hope was lost, we found a box of prepackaged cookies where you just add butter and water. OMG. It was heaven!! We finally had cookie dough here in Chile. Now, mind you, I was kind of a snob and it will never compare to what we have in the States, but it was still delicious! Totally the high point in my day!

Yesterday it hit me. I had ZERO clean clothes, and I am leaving tonight. I had to rush and get my clothes cleaned in hopes that they will be dry by this afternoon. We are leaving TONIGHT for Mendoza, Argentina. Isn't that insane? Oh yeah friends, just taking a weekend trip over to Mendoza! Haha. I am so excited. We are going to rock a wine tour and hopefully see some of the beautiful countryside!

Entonces, I will update you about that weekend upon my return! I am loading some pictures right now, so I promise I will post them up today!

A Cross...Really??

Alright, I will explain at the end.

Lauren has had some dumb moments at the beach this week:

1. Yesterday I went to the beach with Ashley and Maxie. They went swimming, and I fell asleep. While sleeping, some guy stole my backpack, not two inches from my face! A Chilean girl ran up to me and pointed him out. I ran after him, and he dropped my back and left. Some huge Chilean guys followed me over and went after and I guess talked to the guys. I am glad that there are some amazing Chileans who are looking out for gringas like me :)

2. Today I went to the beach for another nap. I didn't have sunscreen. I should have turned back and said no to the scary strong Chilean sun. Instead I took a nap...now my face is in pain from the major burn. ALSO I was wearing my cross necklace, and it left an imprint in my now burnt chest. It looks ridiculous!!

I can't wait for my next ridiculous stunts here in Vina!

I Threw it on the Ground

I love being here in Chile and getting updates on stuff in the US

Andy Samberg in Threw in on the Ground...love the music video
Obama wins the Nobel Peace Prize...well...hmm...
I apparently need to see Whip It, Couples Retreat, and Zombieland...I will get on it ASAP
The New Season of How I Met Your Mother is AMAZING!! I am unimpressed with the office and big bang theory, which is saddening.

Updates from the South

The time changes yesterday. Yeah, didn't know that until about 1pm THIS afternoon. Good thing there wasn't school today! I would have felt so stupid.

I am coming back to UIW next semester!! I love Chile, but I don't need to come back for another semester. I am stoked to get back to San Antonio!

I have new Chilean girlfriends-it's so exciting. I am trying to woe one back to bring to UIW. Isn't that creeper of me? I want to bring back a Chilean with me!! One of the girls is REALLY interested in studying in the US, so I am going to try!!

Katie Cheney is coming to Chile! I am stoked!! I told my host mom all about her today, and she was so cute. She got all excited, and said that she was more than welcome to stay with us...so we are going to have to fig out how to live in my room together!

I went to Casablanca on Friday. It's this small town about half an hour away from here, and it is so cute!! We have a Chilean friend that invited us over to his house for the day. It was like being home. Everyone was just relaxing and talking around the house the whole day. That town is famous for their vineyards, so I am going to have to go back and get wine for everyone. I want to bring wine back as gifts, but I feel like I am going to look like an alcoholic! I mean wine is famous here...and cheaper than the US...so it's the perfect gift!! However, I don't know how they will feel about me smuggling like ten bottles back, and I don't trust mailing that much. That's what is up.

Saturday I went to the beach to chill out. I FINALLY made use of my hammock...as I giant beach towel. What have I been thinking? It's perfect! I can't believe it took me two months to discover it is the most comfortable thing to lay on ever. I am going to rock this gorgeous hammock all over san antonio when I get back!

Today I have to get crackin on homework. I have presentations and wonderful tests coming up! I told my mom Derek was coming over to work on homework, and she was like ARE YOU GOING TO THE BEACH? and I was like no, we are going to work here in the apartment...apparently that is boring and lame. I should obviously go to the beach to work on homework. Haha I think that is so funny. I am going to miss living on the beach sooo badly! Maybe I will put a kiddie pool in the back soccer fields at UIW and rock out in that. Gosh, I am such a nerd!

More adventures to come this week...that is for sure!!

Lauren = Clutz SIEMPRE (always)

Ok there are so many things to share about this week!

First off, happy October everyone! We are starting what is by far my favorite month of the year, because it ends with the ever amazing Halloween celebration. I have two months behind me, and I am looking forward to the next two months with a new found enthusiasm!

Wednesday night Derek and I had a huge study night, which made me realize, that was the first time I had spent over an hour studying for school here. It was a really weird feeling, sort of like I am a slacker, and sort of like I have become a complete homework snob and don't want to bring myself to do work. HOWEVER, I did my work, and I made it through the hellish week with the 3 projects and 3 tests. YAY!!!

Yesterday right before our Grammar test we went to go buy some fruit. I was trying to walk and practice conjugations at the same time. WHY!?! I am so stupid! I didn't see a step and came right down on a twisted foot, crunching down hard on my ankle. Same thing happened last semester during spring break...apparently I need to learn how to walk! I sat for a few minutes sucking in air, laughing and praying that I could get back up and hobble around. I got up and walked on it for the rest of the night...only to discover last night when I finally took my sock off that my ankle was HUGE and swollen. It was pretty cool though. I wanted to take a picture, but I was too lazy. Major bummage though, because I had been planning to go out all week today with a group of people from the school and a group of Chileans we have become friends with. We were all going to Laguna Verde for the entire day to hike and sunbath and cook sausages. I had to pass though, because I don't think I am up for a whole day of walking around. So I decided to pass.

Ok, before I talk more about today, let me fill you in on last night.

We went out with Niko (nicholas) who we met last Thursday. He invited us to Valpo to meet a whole bunch of his friends. It was so great! They invited us to go to the Botanical Gardens on Sunday to barbecue! YUM YUM

Also, we finally had Chileans come to our Cultures in Contact class this Wednesday, and we got into a group with some girls. They invited us to hang out Saturday night. They are going to take us shopping and show us some sites! I AM STOKED!

That is three groups of Chileans AND my Chilean buddy! I am so excited! YAY it took two months, but I have friends. Of course I wouldn't have done it without the push from my ex best friend Amanda Atikinson hahahaha much love

Ok back to today. Before they left for their adventure day, Ashley, Lindsey, and I went to pick up our Chilean identification cards...FINALLY. Haha we should have done that over a month ago, and that is why they almost didn't let us out of the country. No worries, I am official.

Then we ran over to the post office. I went and picked up a care package that my parents sent me. It is by far the coolest box of goodies ever. Here in Chile people only use mayonnaise, which I cannot bring myself to do. They put it on their vegetables, rice, salads, and lots of other dishes as well. I had my parents send me some ranch packets to let my host family try something new. They also sent some gifts for my host family, so I am in good standing with them at the moment. Of course, they send me Halloween candy and stickers and other fun Halloween trinkets. I love it so much! I am going to bring Halloween to Chile! Yay only about 28 more days to go.

Alright that was my somewhat ridiculously fun, exciting, work filled week, and you should look forward to MANY more adventures to come!!

Half Way Mark!!!

Alright chaps, I am halfway through my week of doom! Today I had my presentation over the Mapuches. Last time I gave a presentation she said I looked at my notes too much. I will give her that since I wrote out my entire speech on my paper! Haha. Even if we mess up or don't use perfect grammar, she wants us to practice and get comfortable speaking in Spanish. For someone as timid as I am with Spanish, that is a hard task. No worries, I rocked it :)

Tonight my Cultures in Contact group got together and spent forever trying to find a fun way to present our interviews. Everyone is going to making a powerpoint, so we knew we had to go above and beyond! Entonces, we have created a show, and we have music for the end of our presentation. I hope ours rocks everyone out of their seats so hard that the teacher has no choice but to announce us at the winners! That would be absolutely fantastic in my book!

Finally, we ended up running into our new Chilean friends that we met over the weekend. It was a fantastic day! Tomorrow we are going to rock our presentation, and then tomorrow night my Chilean friend Manuel is going to help me study! YAY CHILE!

Unwind from Peru

Hey everyone!!

This week zoomed by, because I was sick or SOMETHING, and every night I was out before 10pm. It was ridiculous! Still, this week was pretty fantastic!

Wednesday in Cultures in Contact, we were assigned a new project. We have to go and interview Chileans on the street and make a PowerPoint about it for class. It was so scary at first, so I tagged along with Gillian who knows A LOT more Spanish than I do. After awhile I got some nerve and went on my own though. Yay me :) Everyone was so nice

Thursday after class Derek and I met a new Chilean guy that he found (stalked) on couch surfers. We are all desperate to meet new people, so we are trying everything we can think of! Well we met Niko (Nicholas) and he was fantastic! We told him about our Chilean hunting, and now he is getting all of his friends together next Thursday so that we can meet them. Isn't that awesome!? After our meeting, we decided to get together with Lindsey and have a movie night. Actually, we wanted to catch up on all of the new tv shows, but they were taking FOREVER to load!! We ended up surfing pics on facebook and watching the Disney version of Robin Hood.

However, before I got to Lindseys house, I had a little mini adventure. It was 10 pm, so I decided to take a collectivo (a cheap taxi that goes around in the same loop over and over) to her house. Since the collectivos go in a specific route, I have to take two. I made it half way to Lindseys house and then had to try and flag down another collectivo. Only problem, they were all full!! There was a guy walking down the sidewalk, and he started walking over towards me. )I am not afraid of people on the street, but I always try to be aware of my surroundings) He asked me (in broken english) if I speak English, which I thought was very funny, because I obviously do not speak Spanish. He offered to help me flag down a collectivo, but, yet again, they were all full. I asked if it was dangerous to walk at this hour, and he said that I was fine. He lived at least 15 minutes away from Lindseys house, but he walked me all the way to her front door. It was so nice!! We chatted in Spanish and a little in English, and he knows French, so he spoke some French to me. He is studying psychology at the University of Valparaiso, which is right next to my host brother's University. It was very nice of him. Good stranger encounter!!

Friday was a very crappy weather day, so Lindsey and I stayed in bed and watched The Ugly Truth. Later on Friday I watched I Love You, Man...I know, very productive day.

Last night the girls got together and we went to a cafe for awhile. Then Ashley's new Chilean buddy invited us over to hang out. It was so much fun! We met some more super nice Chileans. I feel like things are finally coming together with meeting new people and actually making Chilean friends!

Today I am trying to buckle down and get on my homework. I almost feel badly, because I never have school work. WELL, all that changed this past week when my teachers decided to go crazy with assignments. THIS WEEK I have two tests and four projects, and I learned about all of them last week. Yeah, I know, maybe I could have prepared ahead of time, but, oh yeah, South America doesn't use a syllabus. BOO ON THAT! Haha it's alright though, I am truckin through the workload!!

BTW...The Nightmare Before Christmas en Espanol is La Extrana Navidad de Jack.

PERU!!! Best Vacation EVER!!!

Last Wednesday night I left for our adventure in Peru!!

We all had our last meals at home and then met up at the bus station. Ashley's host mom offered to drive us, so I met them at their apartment to take off. Haha, we almost missed our bus, because her mom stopped to buy cigarettes along the way, knowing exactly what time we were supposed to be there. No worries though, we all got on the bus together. Ashley and I started off the trip right jamming out in the bus! That was a blast. An hour later we landed in Santiago, Chile. We were dropped off further than we were told we would be, so we had to grab a couple of taxis to the airport. Derek, Gillian, and I shared a taxi that had the most ghetto television we had ever seen in our entire life! It was basically duct taped into the car. However, there was a dance show on, so we were entertained. Our flight wasn't until something ridiculous like three am, so we waited in the airport playing cards in a Dunkin Donuts. We went through the trouble of putting all of our liquids into one bag to check it, only to realize that you are allowed to take liquids onto the plane. Our flight took us to Arica, a city at the very north of Chile. We went straight to find the bus station. A VERY nice lady helped us book our bus to cross the border into Peru. We had a few hours to kill, so she let us sleep in a back room. It was absolutely amazing!

We crossed the border in Peru...almost flawlessly. Three of us have student visas and three of us have tourist visas. Well it turns out if you have your student visa then you need a Chile ID card with you. We haven't picked up our student ID cards yet, so they almost didn't let us out of Chile. That was a but scary, but we were fine. Once into Peru we were fighting against the clock to get to our train to Machu Picchu on time! We rode on a bus through the night, which was supposed to arrive around 5:30 am. Sidenote: That was my first double-decker bus ever, and I loved it! Our train was scheduled to leave at 7 am. Our bus ended up arriving an hour later, and we had to take a taxi to the train station. Even though the train was still there, we missed official check in by seven minutes. The taxi drivers said that the train would stop at another station and we could race it over there. For an hour the taxis sped through the mountains, upsetting all of our stomachs quite a bit! However, we made it with ten minutes to spare and were allowed to get on the train. That was my first train ride!! It was so pretty, but it definitely went a lot slower than I imagined trains would in my head. We arrived at the city of Machu Piccu and immediately fell in love with the little tourist town. First we put all of our stuff in the hostel and then we spend the day exploring. We went to all these little shops, a gorgeous little Church, and then restaurants fought over us. One person from each place was standing outside with menus offering us free drinks or free nachos and discounts, it was awesome! We ended up getting free pisco sours and a major discount from the food. Most of us tried Alpaca for the first time, and Derek got a guinea pig, which is a delicacy in Peru. YUM Alpaca meat is absolutely delicious!! South America is obsessed with Pisco Sours, but I just don't find it tasty. Oh well. That night we went to sleep VERY early, because we had to be up VERY VERY early to hike Machu Picchu.

Machu Picchu is a famous natural wonder in Peru, and about two to four thousand people enter every day. On the edge of it is a mountain called Wyna picchu, and the first four hundred or two hundred people who arrive get to climb it. Everyone knows this and shows up early to get in line. We were out of our hostel by four am and heading over to the entrance. There was a line for buses or you could walk. We decided to walk, of course. What we didn't realize is that we would be hiking for an hour and a half straight up the side of a mountain. It was so bad! We have a few pictures from Machu Picchu and you can see the road that curves all the way up to the entrance, and we hiked straight up through the middle of that. We made it to the top before the sun rose, so that was really nice! We were actually within the first hundred people there, so that was really cool! The park opened at 6 am, and we were allowed to start hiking up Wayna Picchu at 7am. There was a warning saying that you needed to be in good health, and they were not kidding. We spent four hours on that mountain of doom. We ate lunch in a cave, and we sat on rocks that were literally on the very top! It was the most incredible view I have ever seen in my life. Everyone needs to go, because pictures absolutely cannot express the beauty of that place! Peru is absolutely gorgeous! There were a couple of parts that were absolutely terrifying, because they didn't have a walkway and you would have to climb a ladder. I have a picture with a rope where you had to pull yourself up the side of the mountain, I thought I was going to freeze and just fall off the side. AHH!! After the mountain most of us took naps and lazily walked around the rest of Machu Picchu. This is also when we fell in love with the cuteness of Alpacas!

After our day of sweat and glory, we took our first shower...for the first time since Wednesday night. That was on Saturday! I don't think I have ever gone so long in my life without a shower! The next morning we left bright and early with fears about what lay before us. You have to understand, we are poor college kids, and there is only one form of transportation that is allowed to bring people into the city, the bus we took. That bus is only a couple of hours, and it costs $71 for the cheapest ticket. Taking this into consideration, we decided to illegally walk the train tracks three hours to a place where we could take vans to a nearby town. Our hostel said that people did this all the time, and it was relatively safe. I was scared we would be caught and taken to a jail in Peru where someone would have to come bail us out! Not ten minutes into our hike we reached our first tunnel. THAT got everyone's blood pumping! TUNNELS?! We sprinted through in hopes that a train would not come at the same time and pummel us. We had another one of those and a super shady bridge that felt like it was falling apart. However, I am still alive and don't owe any fines to the Peruvian government! We took the van which led us to a bus that we took to Cuzco.

It was eleven pm, but we found a really great hostel for $10 a night. We put three people in each room, had a private bathroom, a television, and hot showers! ALSO, coolest thing ever, The Emperor's New Groove was on TV! We saw "Cuzco" in CUZCO! Haha that was such a highlight! Gillian, Derek, and I found an awesome restaurant, and I have the most amazing pasta with pesto sauce ever! It was absolutely delicious! We got to sleep in the next morning, and then we spent the day exploring the beautiful city! We found a huge book sale, and I bought the Count of Monte Cristo in Spanish! I am so excited to start reading it to my host mom! All day people would bring baby llamas and try to get us to pay to take pictures with them. That is when we saw a baby llama in a bonnet, and that was amazing! We ended up at a small cafe with our new friend Rachel. We had met her on the very top of Wayna Picchu, and she had been walking the train tracks the same day as us. We decided to celebrate our achievements with the most delicious ice cream ever! We had basically been living off of bread, so it was nice to have some dessert! That night we left at 10 pm and took an overnight bus into Arrequipa (Spelling??).

We arrived around six am, dreading that nothing would be open. Let's face it, South America enjoys sleeping in much more than we do! HOWEVER, we found a rockin restaurant that served the most delicious breakfast ever! We stayed there eating and talking until the tourist places opened. Our goal was to get to Colca Canyon, which we didn't realize was six hours away from the city. After much bargaining with a tour place, we got the perfect deal! We took a local bus over the city with the canyon. That was the amazing ride where a woman actually put a llama underneath the bus!! That night we stayed in a hostel that fed us dinner (with amazing alpaca) that night and breakfast the next morning. We had hot showers, and a personal guide! We got up about 5:30 the next morning and our guide took us to the side of the canyon where he told us all about the Incas and we got to watch the sunrise. It was absolutely amazing! We ate a filling breakfast and ran over to our bus. WELL, we were taking a local bus, which means fit as many people as possible! HOLY COW, I thought I learned this concept in Guatemala. This was an entirely new experience! There were health code violations left and right! We had the isles packed! However, we eventually got to a spot to watch Condors, and we met up with a real tour bus. Condors are HUGE! Their wing span is 3 meters across, so imagine that when you look at their pictures! Then we rode with other tourists, getting off at certain spots and taking pictures. One of the last stops, it had actually started snowing! SO RANDOM! It was gorgeous! Throughout all of our bus rides we went through every single climate!! We rode through desert and mountains and plains and towns, and we fell in love with Peru! When we got back to Arrequipa we took a taxi to the bus station where we had "beds" on the bus. That actually meant that the chairs were super comfortable and leaned all the way back, which was definitely enjoyable. That took us all the way back to the southern tip of Peru. It was time to find a bus to take us over the border. Goodbye Peru!

Due to the problems getting across the border the first time, we were nervous Chile wouldn't let us back in. However, everything went smoothly and we made it back to Arica with no problems. No problems except that we had an ENTIRE day, and we had no plans. Last semester a guy named Jorge studied abroad at OU and became friends with one of the Lindseys. He told her if she ever came to Arica to call him to hang out. After breakfast and hanging out in the center square and getting super sun burned, Jorge came to hang out with us. He took us to his gorgeous home, and his mom cooked lunch for all of us! The food was incredible! Plus it was the first home cooked meal we had, had in a week! Jorge had to go to work, but he said we could stay at his house and rest all day. Are you kidding me?! This guy was amazing!! He is so nice! We spent all afternoon resting and watching tv and taking naps. Then his mom came to get us to serve us dinner!! She made ham and cheese paninis! TO DIE FOR!! We all ate until we thought our stomachs would explode! At 11:30 pm Jorge came back and personally took us all to the airport! It was a great last night with the most amazing hospitality EVER!

Our 1 am flight brought us back to Santiago, and then we took a bus back to Vina Del Mar. Needless to say, we are finished riding buses for a VERY long time! I thought I was going to pass out, but I again had been three days without a shower, and I didn't want to get my bed nasty! I stayed awake cleaning, unpacking, and organizing my room. My sister was here, so we all went out for lunch. After lunch, I passed out. I woke up for about fifteen minutes last night, but I rolled over and went back to sleep until this morning. After all of the traveling and hiking, and I definitely needed a sleep coma like that! However, I feel much better now, and I am excited to be back in Vina! That was most definitely the most adventurous vacation I have ever taken in my entire life, and now I have the itch to travel all over!!

If you get the chance though, I ABSOLUTELY recommend that you make your way to Machu Picchu!!

Vamos a Peru

It's finally here! Tomorrow Lindsey, Lindsey, Ashley, Gillian, Derek, and I are heading to Peru! It is going to be a crazy awesome adventure all hardcore backpacker style! The consensus seems to be take a pair of pants to wear the whole time, shorts if you want, two shirts, and a jacket. That is supposed to last me tomorrow, Wednesday night, until we get back early next Friday morning! Haha I have never been on a backpacking trip where I wear the same clothes everyday, so this will be new for me! No worries though, because we will be spending a few nights in hostels where we can shower. However, we will be spending at least two nights deep in a canyon with indigenous people where we cannot, so three days of six smelly gringos. That sounds super fun! I am just excited, because we are taking basically every form of transportation available. We are taking a bus from Vina Del Mar to Santiago, flying from Santiago to the tip of Chile, riding a train into Peru, and then taking a taxi into town. Doesn't that sound absolutely grand? The whole reason to go to Peru is to see Machu Picchu, and if you get the chance you most DEF need to look up pictures! It is so incredible! Just be patient for about a week and a half, and I will be able to tell you all about our adventures and post tons of pictures. Please keep up in your prayers, and I will check in when we get back.

Best Saturday EVER!

Today made history as I am starting my second month here in Chile.

I went running with my friend Derek, another student in the exchange program, this morning. See, we go to the beach A LOT, but we only even put our feet in the water. Even that is super difficult, because the water is freezing! The water here is super cold, and we are still in the winter months. Well, today after our run, we decided to take the leap. We went out onto the beach, took off our shoes, and sprinted into the water! I was debating whether I wanted to dive in or not, but it didn't matter. About four feet into the water, there was a drop off, and I went straight under water. Just as fast as we went in, we sprinted back in. We jumped around a little and then I decided to go in for a second round! THAT WAS NOT SMART!! I went under the water, and when I tried to run back out, the current caught me. My head was above water, but the water was so cold I couldn't catch me breath. I started freaking out!! I was literally able to stand, only feet from the shore, but I thought I was dying. Derek was like "Lauren, you are fine." It took me a minute to realize that I was actually fine, but I still had to work hard to get out of the water. I was soaked and freezing!!!!!

It was an awesome day!

Left in Valpo

I HAVE THE BEST STORY EVERRRRRRRR

Today I missed my grammar class, because I had a meeting for my volunteer program. I know I have mentioned it before, but hopefully starting next week I will be working once a week in the morning helping a teacher who teaches English. Yes, that was an overuse of teach. Today we made our way over to Valparaiso, the town next door, where we had our meeting at the Catholic University. It is one of the most gorgeous schools I have ever seen. They had a huge indoor grotto, and their chapel is incredible! There was a guy selling cheap used books, and I fell in love. We spent about twenty minutes pouring over old Spanish books. The oldest book I found was from 1922. The pages were all browning. I almost bought it just to show everyone the book. However, I reminded myself that I am still reading the Spanish book here in my room, so I am going to finish that first. We met with the teachers to talk about what was expected, and some people took longer than others. I was finished, so I wanted to go hang out in the chapel for a minute. I told Lindsey to grab me before they left. I sat in the gorgeous chapel, prayed, journaled a little, and then I realized that a lot of time had passed. I didn't want to rush the girls along, but I wanted to remind them with my presence that we still needed to get back to the school. That's when I discovered that they didn't need me to realize they needed to get back to the school. The room was completely empty; the group left without me. Hahahahahahaha!!! I called Lindsey, whom I had asked to come and grab me, but she didn't answer the phone. Then I called Ashley, who upon realizing I wasn't there, started freaking out!! They were like, OHHHHH NOOOOO!!! It was totally ok though. Getting back and forth between Vina and Valpo is SUPER easy!! The weirdest thing is, when I got on the bus, I actually knew the girl sitting in the front. She is from another program, studying abroad here in Vina. I felt so much better having someone to talk to the whole time. I made it back to the school only to be flooded with hugs and apologies. It was such a great experience!! I made it around on my own in a different country! YAY ME! Hopefully it will be the last time people forget about me though :)

Noche International

Today was such an incredible day here in Chile!!!

Tonight was my first class on Cultures in Contact. At first everyone was a tad upset, because it was all English speakers from the US. Then two German girls and two boys from Mexico trickled in. Still though, when class started there were NO Chileans. Then our teacher came in and explained that there was a mix up with administration, and the Chileans won't be joining our class until next week. That was totally fine, because our teacher is amazing!! He has so much to say about politics and traditions here in Chile. He is very funny, and it looks like we are going to have some really fun projects. Next week should be even better with the other half of our class there! Our first project is to enter a photo contest here in Chile. We are supposed to take a picture of something that we thinks represents Chile. Of course, my mind immediately went to stray dogs. My teacher was like, "If you are thinking about stray dogs, that is a great idea!" MY TEACHER READ MY MIND! It was insane! Now I have a couple of weeks to try and produce an amazing picture that could potentially win me MONETARY COMPENSATION!! (Not to mention, a brand new camera)

If my class wasn't good enough, tonight was international night. We all thought it was just going to be North Americans, but I met a whole bunch of people I didn't even know were exchange students. See, if you actually know Spanish, you can take classes with Chileans at the main campus. I am at the international campus, because I am terrible at speaking Spanish. No worries though, because I AM LEARNING!! Entonces, I met a few people from Spain and talked with some girls from France! I got to practice my Spanish and meet new people!! It was an amazing night!

Now for the cherry on top of the sundae that was my day today....I came home to find my sister Karla!! She had a whole bunch of tests this week, so she came home to sleep and take a break. She is leaving at 5:30 am tomorrow morning, but I am still excited that I got to see her.

That is that. This Wednesday was an INCREDIBLE Wednesday!! YAY CHILE!!

I love Parks!!

Today included a fun little adventure around my town!! See when we first got here, we had to go and register our student VISAS. Now we have to go back and pick up our official Chilean identification cards. HOWEVER, none of us know where the building is. We went our first week, in a metro, following Carlos. Mia tried to get us directions, but they were very unclear. Entonces, we walked downtown and just drifted along trying to find the mysterious building. When we realized that we didn't have a chance, Erin got up the nerve to ask for directions. We had to do that a couple of times actually. Turns out the building is only open from 9-2, so we are planning to go back on Friday when we don't have class. All was not lost, though, because we passed about three new park areas I had never seen before! I absolutely love the landscaping here in Vina! They put parks everywhere! Not only do we have the beach, but we have beautiful parks with amazing fountains and gorgeous trees! I have decided I need to find my way back and do my homework in the park from now on :) :) :)

My history class starts tomorrow! I am so excited!!

Homemade Ghost Stories

My host sister Karla came home this weekend! It was the best weekend ever, and now I have a lot to share!! Three days of amazing stories here in Chile.

Friday. My sister got to the house around eight, and we did a super speedy catch up while I got ready to go meet Manuel. Derek and I, from the UVM exchange program, met up with Manuel and his best friend at Cafe Journal. Probably the worst place to practice another language since it was so loud, but it was a great night! We talked a lot, and everyone was very patient. Manuel is studying law, and his friend is working in his first year as a doctor. We talked about all sorts of things, and I am excited to meet up again this week and learn more!!

Saturday. The family went out to lunch!! Just walking along the coast to the restaurant could have been the highlight of my day! It was absolutely gorgeous outside!! There was a cute little dog who sat next to our table that my host mom lovingly fed. After a delicious panini, my sister and I had gelato! YUM!! We went grocery shopping, which I always think is fun. My mom bought me tea!! Also, Karla and I had a super fun argument over oil. Haha. She picked up a bottle of baby oil, only instead of oil it said colognia or something. She asked me what the English translation was, so I told her that was baby oil. She was like NO, oil is for cars. I didn't know how to explain that there are oils for your skin, like baby oil and massage oil. She thought I was crazy, and I looked it up on the internet to show her later. Haha. It was fantastic! Karla had a TON of homework, so we spent the night working on it. She has three English presentations she has to memorize for Monday. One of the presentations is a made up story, and she wanted to write a ghost story. Entonces, we sat in my bed until the wee hours of the morning crafting the perfect ghost story! On a completely unrelated note, I had to sleep with a nightlight for some reason. Haha. Just kidding....kind of :)

Sunday. The end of the weekend finally came, and I had to say goodbye to Karla. It's ok, though, because it will only be a few weeks until I see her again!! Today's fantastic story takes place as I was trying to walk into mass this morning. These guys asked if I wanted to read the prayers of the faithful. WHAT?! I cannot read Spanish! I politely turned them down, even though they were a tad insistent. I know, I am such a chicken!! However, I was following along with the prayers as my replacement read them, and I couldn't even read them in my head as fast as he was reading them. If I had attempted to say the prayers, people would have fallen asleep waiting for me to finish! Oh well, maybe some other time.

I am now off to attempt and practice more Spanish!! I am listening to Spanish podcasts. I only understand about one in five or so words, but I feel like at least that is something!!

Mother Knows Best?

Hahaha today was the GREATEST day ever for awkward experiences here in Chile!!

First off, Father Art from San Antonio mailed me a bilingual missal, and I got it today! I am so excited, because now I will be able to follow along and actually participate in the Mass!!

Story time! When I first got to Chile, my host mom told me that when I was home I was NEVER to answer the door or buzz anyone up. She said that she had keys and a cell phone, and if anything ever happened she would call me. Today I came home from school around six or so. No one was at the house. I went into my room and pulled out the handy dandy laptop, and I hear the doorbell ring. I ignore it and go on with my work. Then I hear the doorbell ring again, followed by knocking. I tip toe over to the door, but the peephole is covered. If I look through the stranger will know I am looking and if it was a robber he would know I was home. (I knew it wasn't a robber, but I can't speak Spanish) I ran back to my room and called my host mom who was at the supermarket. She freaked and was like "Oh no! It's the guy who is supposed to fix the washer." Then I had to run out the door and catch up with the guy. He was not a happy camper, complaining that I didn't answer the door and such. He went on and on, but I really didn't understand anything. I told him I needed to learn Spanish, and he was like YES YOU DO! Haha. Super awkward. Then, not ten minutes later, someone buzzes from outside. Now, I have been on strict orders not to let anyone up, but I had already screwed up. I took a deep breath and picked up the phone to talk with the person outside. It was a woman looking for my mom. I didn't know what to do, because my mom wasn't here. Finally she said she would call her. About ten minutes later my mom walks in with the lady from outside. I felt so badly!! I had screwed up twice in one night!! However, I explained everything to the best of my ability, and everyone seemed fine in the end.

I also chatted with my new Chilean friend, Manuel, tonight! I am so excited, we are meeting up tomorrow night to hang out at Cafe Journal. I am going to spend all day tomorrow practicing for my Spanish conversation! Haha.

Just Another Day at the Beach

Today was an exceptionally fine day here in the country of Chile!

In my Chilean Culture class we discussed social classes here in Chile. Being a sociology major, that was really interesting for me! The amount of money considered to be rich here is actually below the poverty line in the United States, so it's really interesting to compare the cost of living in both places. On Monday we are coming up with lists of what is normal for a middle class family to own and pay for in our own country. We will end up comparing the United States, Chile, and Germany, so I am excited to see what that turns out to be. We are so fortunate to have all of the opportunities that we do in the United States!!

I got my first quiz back today in grammar, and, yay, we have another one tomorrow! Entonces, I am going to get on studying!

The best part of the day came this afternoon when our class let out. I was tired, and Mia invited me to go nap on the beach. Nap on the beach?? Count me in!! Mia, Sarah, Derek, and I went and just relaxed on the beach for a couple hours. Jealous yet? I walked along the coast wading in the water, which is still freezing!! However, after about twenty minutes my feet got used to the cold, and I wanted to jump in and swim!! I fought the urge and went back to watch Mia and Derek do handstands in the sand. It was a fantastic afternoon!!

My First Presentation in Spanish

Today was a big day in my academic career. I gave my first presentation ever in another language! Everyone was such a big help in this endeavor!! Our teacher said that we could speak five to ten minutes about any topic regarding Chile that we wanted. Most people chose places in Chile to speak about, like San Pedro and the islands. One girl did her presentation on the government, and that was really interesting. However, I decided to talk about the bread here in Chile. Don't write it off as a ridiculous topic yet, because "pan" here in Chile is VERY important. Thus far, my host mom has introduced me to over eight different kinds. Also, Chile consumes the most bread in the world, after Germany. I did some research on the importance of bread here and the different kinds available. I sent my speech to Art who looked it over and checked my Spanish. Then I practiced it for my sister and some other friends. Then I read it for my host mom so that she would correct all of my pronunciation errors. This morning before class I felt confident about my topic, which is awesome. I did not think I would ever be confident talking about something in Spanish. Ashley and I left for school early, and I bought bread for the class. We went crazy in the bakery!! We got 12 of the traditional rolls, 3 special kinds of bread, an empanada, and a cupcake. All of that for less than $6 made me a very happy camper! I was still a little nervous, so I volunteered to go first. It was fantastic!! I made it through my speech, and everyone loved their bread! It was a great day at school today!! Tonight some friends are coming over for bible study, so I am just cleaning up my room to prepare for that. I hope the second day of school went well at UIW!

Readers are Leaders

Today I was working on my Spanish homework in my room when my host mom came in asking me a favor. She asked if I would read to her. I was so excited, but it was very overwhelming! I sat on the couch and started reading a legit Spanish novel. Every few words I needed a correction, but I got through. I noticed improvement with every page, and that made me happy. Our washer broke today, and after my clothes were done washing the water would not drain out. Entonces, I had to take my clothes and wring out the water. That was an effort in itself! I have my clothes hanging outside right now, but apparently it will rain in the middle of the night tonight, meaning I need to bring them in. I don't know why, but I love the act of hanging my clothes out to dry. The only thing I am not a fan of is that my clothes SMELL like outside when I bring them back in. Alright, this week is all about challenging myself to speak more Spanish. I have a list of goals for myself, and I am very excited to carry them out! Everyone at UIW have an incredible first day of school tomorrow! I heard the new student gathering went well, and I am excited to hear all about every one's day tomorrow!!

Pizza on the Beach

Today was a fantastic day here in Vina Del Mar, Chile.

First off, I bought my tickets for spring break! I also found out that spring break doesn't actually exist. We get the week off in anticipation for the country's independence day which falls on September 18. However, there really isn't an equivalent for us United States students, so they call it spring break for us. I am officially going to Machu Picchu, Peru for the week. We are flying out of Santiago, taking a train over the border, checking out Machu Picchu, and then camping with indigenous people in a canyon. I don't know all the details of that last part, but I will def post the itinerary soon!

After planning group, we went to celebrate Gillian's birthday. Her birthday was yesterday, but we were all of skiing in the Andes mountains. Today we went and bought to large pizzas and headed out to the gorgeous beach that is located right outside of my house. Before you get too jealous, my foot almost froze off from the extremely cold water. Hugo and his cousin Dennis from the South of Chile met me at the beach to walk me home. It was so exciting meeting "family." The South of Chile is very expensive, so he said if I wanted to go travel down there he would be more than willing to lodge me! I am so excited, because they have gorgeous lakes, mountains, and, oh yeah, glaciers. I have a lot more exciting adventures to plan here in Chile!!

Andes in August, Yes you can be Jealous

Today was incredible! I have officially decided that I want to move to Colorado and ski for the rest of my life. This morning, somehow by the grace of God, I got up at 4am. I couldn't bring myself to get out of bed for ten minutes, but I did get up! Yay me!

Four. Four is the number of times I fell down today. The first time I fell down was within five minutes of putting on my skis. It was so embarrassing! I put on my skis and I forgot how to ski. Mind you, I have been skiing before, so there is no reason why I should have forgotten. All I had to do was go down to a mini slope to the first ski lift. I mentally freaked out, went two feet, crossed my skis, and fell in the snow. Everyone was staring at me. A guy came over and helped me up, so that was nice. The next two times were ridiculous. I didn't fall down while moving; I fell down while I was just standing at the bottoms of hills waiting for the rest of our group. Apparently I can't turn my body around without losing my balance and falling over sideways. That was rough, because Lindsey made me get up on my own. However, I can officially get up on skis now. I had never been able to before without help or taking my skis off altogether. The last fall was the best and my favorite! About twenty minutes before we stopped skiing for the day we tried out a blue. Some of the snow wasn't packed down all the way, and my ski got caught. It was glorious! I flipped over on my skis, my feet went flying up behind me, I ate snow, and my poles went flying. It was a glorious end of the day legit fall!! Though, my wrist was pretty sore after, and that wasn't much fun.

There are lots of pictures from the day, and I promise I will post them ASAP! It was absolutely incredible! The mountains here are gorgeous and the snow is so white and pure. It's weird though, because there were no trees. Also, the sky was a bit cloudy, so if you looked up you couldn't even tell where the snow stopped and the sky started. It was an incredible view. Also, how cool is it that August 21 I was skiing!?! Yes, everyone stuck in horrible Texas August heat can now be totally jealous :)

Have a great night!

The Dance Goes On

I try to think of creative titles, and that is not working out, my apologies. However, tonight I went with Derek and Jillian to go and take a Salsa dancing class. We mostly practiced basic, but I need a lot of work, basic is perfect for me. At the end of class Derek and Jillian danced swing for everyone. That was a blast! When we went to wait for the metro back home Derek taught me basic swing. I am so excited! Three types of dances in two days! I am stoked!

The best part of the night actually happened on the way to our dance class. Derek, Jillian, and I were talking, and Jillian told us about her outdoors job where she gives nature tours. I couldn't remember where she was from, so I inquired. When she told me North Carolina I got super excited, because North Carolina is the state I want to visit most!! She asked me why and I started, "Well it's all because of my BIFFL Katie Cheney...." She stopped me right there and was like, "KATIE CHENEY!?!?!?!" Jillian knows my BIFFL Katie Cheney from the summer camp that they both work at in North Carolina. AMAZING! The world is so small, and that makes me so happy!

I am off to bed, because tomorrow I have to leave the house at ten till five in the morning to walk to the school and ride the bus to SKI! My family is letting me borrow a coat, but I still don't have pants or gloves...guess I will just rent tomorrow. Look forward to snow pictures that you can be totally jealous of :) :) :)

Have a great night!

ME ENCANTA!

I have a new love. I thought it was Salsa. It still may actually be Salsa. HOWEVER. Tonight I discovered Tango. Eight steps to a rhythm I don't actually understand. I would never survive if I had to lead the dance. Thank goodness I am a girl, because all I have to do is follow along. It was incredible!!! It's interesting how this all came about.

Today Ashley and I were in the kitchen at UVM studying for our grammar quiz. (Yay for first quiz of the semester) Our friend Derek, who I promise is Kyle Copley's twin, came to join us. After awhile of talking to him about his classes, we convinced him that he needs to move out of the beginner level and come into our class. The school said that would be fine, so he attended his first grammar class with us. After class we were all talking, and he mentioned that he was going to a dance class tonight. Now it was his turn to convince us. For only $2 we could take a two hour dance class, and that seemed like a pretty good deal to me! Of course, you have to realize, I was being taught by people who only speak Spanish. I speak English. It was VERY hard. Ashley and I spent about ten minutes just practicing the eight steps on our own. The teacher thought I had it down decent enough, so she lovingly threw me into the arms of someone who had obviously been dancing for a very long time. I felt so stupid. However, he was very nice and very patient, even though I couldn't dance or communicate with him. It was fantastic! After dancing for awhile, the teacher showed me how to do crazy eights. Ok, I know there is a real dance term for it, but I don't know what it is called. All went well, but I really need some legit dance shoes. Trying to rock Tango in Toms was just not happening. I kept going up on my toes to make it easier.

Ok now that I am off my dancing tangent, today was also a meeting for volunteering. I am taking Cultures in Contact and one aspect of the class is volunteering. We had the option of playing with kids, which was actually really hard to turn down, or we could go to schools and help teachers who teach English. I am opting to go volunteer with teachers, so one morning every week I will be at a local school. I am so excited!! The teacher can use me to read or model something in English if they need any help, and I get to help the students with their assignments and such. This is going to be such a great experience!

I am stoked. My schedule is filling up with amazing things to do in Chile!! I was kind of getting a tad homesick seeing ads for events coming up at UIW, but now I have great new opportunities here in Vina Del Mar!

Gracias? Really??

Tonight at went to Church at my parish here in Vina Del Mar. I was in the communion line, and I thought to myself "I know I don't understand the words at Mass but at least when I receive communion I can still say AMEN." It's the exact same, just with a rockin Chilean accent. Then my head got so big and full of confidence I forgot. When I received communion I said "Gracias." GRACIAS?!?! Are you kidding me? Yeah, thanks for giving me Jesus. Haha, the guy just stared at me. I shook my head and hurriedly said "Amen." When I got back to my seat I had to laugh at myself. That was my big stupid moment of the night.

However, the night was not over! Tonight they are celebrating Saint Alberto Hurtado, who is actually from Chile. After mass everyone was invited to gather for cake and refreshments. I don't know anyone there, so I just decided to leave. However, one of the women who welcomed me last week chased me out of the Church and asked me to stay and meet her daughter and celebrate with everyone. She was so sweet! She grabbed me by the arm and escorted me to the party. She introduced me to her family, and everyone was so nice! Even the priest came up and talked to us!! It turned out to be an amazing night, and then on the way home I even stopped to watch the rain. I live in a gorgeous city and when the freezing rain isn't causing hypothermia, it's kind of nice to watch.

Alright, I am off to learn Spanish now. I am getting a Chilean buddy!! Today we talked to Carlos about getting Spanish tutoring. Ashley and I like to practice with each other, but it is hard to practice with someone else who is learning. Entonces, Carlos with the University is going to find me a student who wants to practice to improve his English and help me improve my Spanish. I am stoked!! I am going to learn Spanish!

Curtain Cords, NOT TOYS

Today at lunch my host mom had something really exciting to tell me! Apparently December 8 when the Catholic Church celebrates the Immaculate Conception, they have a VERY SPECIAL custom. All these people gather near sundown and they walk. ALL NIGHT LONG. She said that whole families and parishes come out and do this all night trek. She says I need to wear multiple pairs of socks to make it through. It sounds so beautiful! They do their own version of a pilgrimage every year! Hopefully I can find some friends who will want to go with me.

Real Random: Tonight my mom got new curtains for my room. I had these solid blue curtains, but she bought these beautiful yellow/gold curtains. I love them! They totally open up the room. However, in the pack of curtains there were two cords in case you want to tie them back. My brother, Hugo, had the grand idea of using them as a whip. I was holding the rod for my mom, so I had to stand there and take it. Once we got the curtains up I grabbed another cord and chased Hugo around the apartment. We each got a few good hits in, and WOW those things hurt so badly. I am just warning you, not a smart thing to do. Then we went on with our next grand idea of throwing the soccer ball at each other. Yeah, that knocked over our lamp and ended up with reprimands from our mom. Good times.

Today Ashley and I took Mara's suggestion to heart. We are trying to expand our vocabulary, so we pick different subjects and look up all the words we can think of. Today we discussed technology. We learning vocab from inbox to download to email. It was a blast! Thanks Mara!

I am also going through and trying to find all of the Spanish songs I can that have Spanish versions as well. If you guys can think of artists like Christina Aguilera that sing both, I would really appreciate it! Thanks for your help!!

I finally figured out my full address, so if you want it and don't have it, please let me know!

First Bible Study

Today was a fantastic Sunday!! Hugo's dad invited us over for lunch in Valpo, so we rode over there and ate sea food. It's weird, but my favorite thing there was actually made with hot dogs. You know the crust of an egg roll, what everything is inside of. They had hot dogs baked into that. I really don't know how else to explain it, but it was absolutely delicious! They also had two huge platters of kiwi, and I ate that amazing green fruit until I thought my stomach was going to burst. After lunch Hugo, his dad, and I walked along the coast and watched the waves. How relaxing! It was a great walk, and I saw the most incredible kites I have ever seen. They are smaller than kites we have in the United States, but they fly SO high! I have never seen anything like it before.

After lunch I ran to a cafe to meet up with some girls for our first bible study. We decided that we want to get together and go over the bible on Sundays, which is so incredible. I am so thankful to have people here in Chile that can help me grow in my faith journey. I was a tad nervous, because religion can be a hot topic. Not here though! Everyone had incredible, insightful things to say, and I feel like I got a lot out of it. Unfortunately, my four day weekend has come to an end, and now I have to finish my homework for tomorrow. Oh well, I am excited to get back to school and learn more Spanish! Have a great night!

Assumption of Mary

Hey everyone!! Today is the feast day of the Assumption of Mary so I rocked Mass tonight at 7pm. I left my house around six as the sun was setting, and the sky had the most incredible colors I have ever seen! There were pinks and blues and yellows and oranges and purples. It was absolutely gorgeous! I wish I had, had my camera there with me. Unfortunately as I sat in the Church I realized how I had forgotten that after the sun sets, the temperature drops drastically. I didn't take a coat or jacket or anything but my brown button up shirt with me to Church. I WAS FREEZING! It was so miserable. I ran home and had to let my finger thaw out. I know it's the winter here, but sometimes the afternoons are so warm that I forget to be smart about my clothing.

During dinner tonight my brother let me know that his school offers free salsa lessons! I AM THERE!! I am so excited to practice dancing! Also Mara has convinced me that I need to let Zumba know they need to start classes up here in Vina Del Mar, so we will see how that endeavor goes! Have a great night!

Huevo

Day two of my four day weekend is going fantastic, thanks for asking!

Yesterday Ashley and I went down to the beach and took pics, so look for those soon. It is just such a gorgeous view living here in Vina Del Mar, we decided we really needed to take some pics to share with others. Last night we went over to Valpo, the town right next door. They have this huge club over there that is amazing and we are going to check it out next week. There are four or five different floors and each floor plays a different genre of music. Last night we went out somewhere that was playing the most amazing American music ever! Red Hot Chili Peppers anyone? Haha. It was great. Then we decided, we would really like McDonald's. McDonald's here in Chile is DELICIOUS! The menu is a lot smaller and the food tastes a tad different, but french fries in every country seem to be delicious!

This morning the four of us, Ashley, Lindsey, Lindsey, and I got up and went to the gym to continue our training! It's super fun, because we are ALWAYS the only people in there. Today I found out that after working out swimming laps for an extended period of time really isn't that easy.

Tonight it is starting to rain, and it is supposed to last all day tomorrow. Entonces, it is going to be a pretty chill weekend. I am excited to get on my Spanish. My family got me a TV! They are so amazing. Lindsey says she watches CNN in Spanish with her host family, so I am going to check that out and see if it helps my Spanish! Today is officially two weeks here in Vina Del Mar, and I am absolutely loving it! Some kids at the school want to start up a bible study on Sundays, so I am really looking forward to that! Also, next weekend we are going skiing and the weekend after there is a volunteer project one day. I am going to start getting super busy, and that is exciting!

Have a great night!!

I Love Church

Ok, so I will save the best for last. Today school was great! YAY! I finally took a picture of the school, and I will put it up :)

At five today I had my first run with my new training group. There are four of us girls, and we are going to run in the Vina Del Mar half marathon in December. That is exciting! The weather is supposed to be nice here in the summer, so I hope it isn't unbearable heat! Tomorrow we are waking up early to go workout! Yeah for the rockin training group! We should be totally awesome and get shirts made or something haha.

Tonight I went to daily mass at my new Church. I saw the guy I ran into last night, I am pretty sure he works there...did I mention this? The Church is not open on Mondays, so when he saw me there he was really surprised. It's not my fault, the door to the main Church was open, so I just thought maybe it was open to pray even when the office wasn't open. It's not that strange of a thought. Anyway...I came back tonight and saw him. No one was in the main Church, so I was like ummm where is mass? He pointed me into a side chapel where there were about fifteen people. Ok, I was already started at by everyone, because I was an outsider. HOWEVER at the end of mass Father points to me and was like and look, we have a new sister with us here tonight. Where are you from? So I had to introduce myself in front of everyone. It was really cool though, because when mass ended like five minutes later EVERYONE lined up to welcome me. I got Bienvenidos and kisses and hugs and it was just great! Sooo it was an amazing experience today at mass. This Saturday is a celebration of some sort, maybe a Holy Day of Obligation, I am still unsure, but they are have masses all day long, so I am going to hit up Church on Sunday and see them all again! YAY!!

Then Ashley came over and we did homework together. Yay Spanish homework! We had like a huge packet though, and we couldn't figure out three of the problems, sooo we asked my brother. He is such a great tutor to have around :) Haha

Have a great night!

My First Day of School!!

I am a total nerd and was nervous when we walked into class ten minutes late this morning, but it made no difference. Chilean time works for me, because everything starts a little bit later that scheduled :)

I LOVE MY CLASSES! In our first class this morning we practiced basic conversation. We got put into pairs and then we asked names, where they were from, what they study, and other basic questions. Then we had to write down all the answers in Spanish. After we switched partners, and we couldn't ask them any questions that they had already answered. That was tough! It forced us to practice talking about things we don't naturally talk about yet in Spanish. We ended up doing it four times. It was fun! Now I can properly intro myself to new people!

Hola! My llamo Lauren. Soy de Tejas in Los Estados Unidos. Yo tengo 20 anos. Yo estudio sociologia en San Antonio a la Universidad Incarnate Word. Yo tengo una hermana, Christina y me gusta ULTIMATE FRISBEE!!

Haha ok that is enough. Sorry is things aren't spelled right, I am terrible at writing in Spanish. Ok, I am also terrible at speaking Spanish. I have to much to learn.

We also had grammar class. That is going to be more individual work. We got a packet to work on in class, and this week we are going to review present tense. It was really nice, though, because she helped us with any questions we had. I have never been so excited about grammar before, that is weird.

I am so excited for day two!!

Oh sad day, I found out Chile doesn't offer Zumba. I am going to have to bus over to Argentina if I want to take classes. I will have to see how much that costs, haha.

Have a great night!!

Finally Got Pictures For Ya!

Hey everyone! Alright, so I finally sat down and got my photos together for you all. Sorry the Guatemala Slide show is so out of place, but now you have photos from Guatemala :)

I am also going to put up some pics from the tour we took yesterday. OMG it was so much fun! I am so excited to keep exploring this city.

Today was El Dia Del Nino here in Chile! I went walking down the boardwalk and there were crowds and crowds of families! It was so cute!! Tons of kids had their faces painted and some had balloons and other toys. It was a HUGE celebration today. Also today was amazing weather, so when I passed by the beach there were actually people swimming in it.

Tonight I went over my school schedule with my mom, and now I am ALL SET for classes tomorrow! I am so excited and nervous and have pre-first day of school butterflies! I am such a dork! Oh well, have a great night!

Valpariaso

Just a quick note on the gorgeous city I got to tour today!

We went into this tunnel that leads to a famous elevator. Anyway, the guide went through the whole mess on how if you get stuck in the tunnel during a tremor, which is supposed to be really common, it's really scary, because the lights will go out on you. So then we proceed down this long tunnel, and they turn out the lights on us. OMG for a split second EVERYONE freaked out, until we realized that they were of course just trying to play a joke on us. Still though, a tunnel with no light, it was really scary! Then again I am twenty years old and still afraid of the dark, so maybe YOU wouldn't think it was very scary.

At the end of the tour we went on a boat ride. We rode right up next to sea lions! Goodness, those creatures are SOO big!! We also found out that they are stinky animals. Doesn't matter, it was really cool! By the time we were out on the boat, the sun had set and it was pretty dark. Looking back you could just see the whole city lit up. It was absolutely beautiful :) :) :)

Yayy I have Classes!!!

Yesterday I went and finalized my class schedule with my director! I got into all the classes that I wanted to take, which is perfect, because now I can get credit for the semester :)

I am taking three Spanish classes: Grammar and Composition, Spanish and Chilean Culture, and Phonetics. I am taking a a history course in English: Precolumbian Mesoamerican Cultures. Finally, I am taking Cultures in Contact. I think this will be my favorite class! The class is half Chileans and half foreign students, taught half in Spanish and half in English, and aimed at just learning about the other culture. We will bring in foods from our home, talk about our traditions, and different things like that! I am so excited!!

Before my meeting, Ahley and I hit up the beach. It was so beautiful! We decided that it is not THAT cold, and we want to jump in and swim! Haha, JK. After the meeting we went to a little cafe where I got hot chocolate, because I am absolutely obsessed with the hot chocolate here. It makes me HAPPY!! Then we went shopping. I got my first book in Spanish, since my last Spanish book turned out to be a huge bust! Did I already write about that? Well it turns out that I bought a book in Portuguese. Yeah, I am THAT cool.

Today we are going to tour the city next to us, Valparaiso. I am so excited! I am sure I will have tons to write about that adventure as well! Have a great day!!!

Besos Besos Besos

Today was a LAZY day for Lauren! I had nothing to do at the school, so I slept in and chilled around the apartment. Today was my first laundry day, AND the first time I have even hung my clothes to dry. As I type, my clothes are currently hanging outside my window. I was soooo careful putting them up, because we are on the second floor and what a pain it would be to have to retrieve them. That was fun! Also, thanks to Mara, I entertained myself in my room while my clothes were washing with ZUMBA!! I had so much fun! I was trying to build myself up to go running today. It was just soooo cold!! I finally got myself outside, but I got sidetracked and walked up a hill where my new Church is. I just wanted to make sure I would be able to find my way back alone this weekend. However, when I got there it was open, so I went inside. I don't know what it was, maybe all my homesick feelings built up or something, but I felt this huge wave of peace just kneeling there praying. Good God Moment! It made me really happy. After I was finally inspired to run! YAY!!!

Tonight I invited myself to go watch my brother play soccer with his friends. It was amazing, because I met a Chilean girl!! She was so nice! She was there watching her boyfriend play. She asked me where I was from and what I was doing in Chile. Then we talked about school. She is studying to be a vet. It turns out she actually has family in California, and she is going to visit them in December. She has never traveled by plane before, and she is really excited. We talked about sports and the weather and places to visit here in Vina Del Mar. We had this amazingly great conversation, ALL IN SPANISH!!! It made me so happy! I understood almost everything she said, and she did an amazing job of understanding my horrible Spanish accent. It was an amazing night.

I am just having culture shock, because I am so not used to kissing everyone. EVERYONE. When I meet people, when I say hello, and when I say goodbye. So I have this really bad habit of being super awkward, because I forget I need to kiss people, so I need to rush to catch up with them, so I end up like smashing my cheek against theirs. So yeah, that's awkward Lauren in Chile for you. Of course, by the time I come home I will be a pro and then awkwardly try and kiss EVERYONE in the United States. Oh well, give and take I guess. Just prepare yourself for muchos besos!

Cafe Journal

First off, last night before I went out I was talking with my sister about her dorms. She told me these crazy ghost stories about how after the people on the third floor moved out she started hearing noises up there. She went down to the lobby and they told her that they were angels, and that she needed to pray for them. SUPER CREEPY! She said that for a month or so she couldn't sleep without music on and she was absolutely terrified. I, of course, took that opportunity to tell COLBERT GHOST STORIES!! Yayy it was so much fun, and we both totally freaked ourselves out. Entonces, yeah for ghost stories!!

We started off at Cafe Journal, which is where most international students and a whole bunch of college students go. However, when we got in, the place was jam packed. Well, this guy that we met up with has actually been dating a Chilean girl since last semester. She suggested a local bar that would be much better. It was so cool, we got there, and there were def tables available. However, we don't do first floor! Haha. She went and asked the owner if we could go upstairs, s they opened it up for us. For awhile we were the only people up there, and it was so much fun. The bottom part was just a regular bar with tables and chairs, but upstairs there were couches and a tv and music videos playing on the wall. It was really fun. I met some really great people, and I had an amazing night. Around one thirty or so they decided to leave and go out dancing. Another girl and I were like, umm, we will go home and curl up in bed thanks. Haha, so we said goodnight to everyone and took a collectivo together, because we like in the same direction. OMG that guy was driving so fast! It was insane! If the car door had come open we would have gone flying out! Haha, it was fun though

I safely made it through my first night out here in Chile, and I had a great time! Today I am going to take advantage of my day off and go exploring!

Tienes buen dia!

Visa Registration, Avoid if Possible

WOWWWW!! This morning was so long! We had to be at school by nine, which was unfortunate, because I have gotten used to sleeping in everyday. Today I woke up early, and then lied to myself, saying that I would only sleep for ten more minutes. Yeah, that turned into forty, leaving me rushing around to get off to school. When we got there Carlos, the international coordinator, told us it would be the longest morning of our life, boy was he right!!

HOWEVER, I went on my first subway ride, well, here it is the metro. It was sooo clean!! It was so fun! We have the opportunity to get a metro pass, but I just know that I will never use it. We can bus from city to city super cheap, so it's not worth paying for the metro. Whatever. The point is, this morning I got to ride in the awesome green message, and I loved it!!!

Then we came to the visa registration building. Sincerely, I just sat around for a couple of hours waiting for my turn. The morning was not shot though, because I used the coolest machine ever. There was a vending machine, but it was for coffee and hot chocolate. But like, how does that work? It looked like those machines in gas stations that dispense coffee, but there were no cups. So this girl and I just started at the machine for like twenty minutes trying to figure out how it worked. Finally someone in the office walked by, and they told us it dispenses the cup with the drink in it. OMG I was so intrigued!! I had to try it! SO I put my money in, pressed hot chocolate, and this little white cup came down and started filling. It was insane! I have never seen anything like it!! I didn't have my camera, but she took a picture for me. I can't wait to show you! If you have seen something like this don't make fun of me, it was def the hi lite of my morning!!!

After that we had to run and get photocopies of our stamped certificates and go to another building to wait in line again. That is where we went to register for our IDs. That was neat, because they took all ten of my fingerprints.

I met a girl from OU and it turns out she lives right down my street, and we are taking the same classes. YAYYY I have a friend! Hahaha. I am actually going to cut out right now and go with her to Cafe Journal. It's a pub where a lot of college students hang out. Tonight is international night! Yayy!!

I will write all about it para ti!

Tienes buen noche!

Getting Acquainted With Chile

I feel like I have so much to catch you guys up on!!

I left the Houston International Airport Thursday morning after a delicious airport breakfast with my family. I flew over to Miami, FL then onto Bogota, Colombia, and finally, I landed in Santiago, Chile around 4:30 in the morning. Needless to say, no one was there to pick me up yet, so I hung out in the coffee shop for a few hours. I rode over to Vina Del Mar with about eight other students around 9 am, but we were all exhausted and slept all the way over, which was only about an hour and half or so. Everyone got dropped off at the school to meet their families, except me. Somehow my mom arranged for the van to take me directly to the apartment. AMAZING!! They took me on a tour of the apartment, showed me my room, and then my mom, Patricia, my sister, Karla, and my brother, Hugo, and I sat down in the living room and talked. My brother and sister speak pretty good English, so my mom was like "I don't care if you go back and forth between English and Spanish, tell us everything about you!" Haha she speaks only Spanish, and she is amazing. She is so loving and welcoming. She is always patient. Come to find out, they have been hosting students for like seven years now! Soo intense! They are like the perfect family to do it!! After we talked, my mom took me out to show me some important sights and then we all met up for lunch. After lunch I started the long adventure of unpacking. Then in the evening Hugo and I went over to his aunt's house for dinner. OMG that was so fun! It's his aunt and uncle and they have a 30 yr old daughter, and she has a 5 year old daughter. Hahaha the little girl is such a ham. I love her to death. They were so nice, and they talked slowly to me. Every time I messed up they reassured me, saying that I was fine and it was totally alright to make mistakes. Everyone here is so patient!

All that happened on my first day here. Needless to say, it was a LONG day!! Saturday everyone slept in. I thought I had slept super late, but I was actually the first one up. The night before Hugo showed me how to use the shower, but when I went to turn it on there was no hot water. In Guatemala sometimes the water would go out, and I didn't want to seem rude by saying there was no hot water. Entonces, I took the most excruciatingly painful cold shower of my life. My scalp was burning the water was so cold!! Come to find out, I have to go into the kitchen and turn on the hot water when I want to shower. I felt SOOOO dumb! My mom was freaking out, hugging me and going crazy that I had taken a shower without a hint of warm water. Anyway, that was my morning. Then later that day I went shopping with my mom which was a blast. I got converters and a cell phone, so I am all technical savvy now!! Then I went grocery shopping with her. Ok, so their mall is four stories and has a walkway to another mall which has a grocery store in it. I feel like it is HUGE!! But they said that it is super small compared to the mall in Santiago. I can't wait to go there!!

On Sunday my sister went to mass with me so that I wouldn't get lost. She is so sweet! After mass we met up with their dad to go eat lunch...guess what we had...yep...Chinese Buffet! OMG incredible! Everything has a South American twist, since two countries don't use the same ingredients. However, just like all other Chinese Buffets, it was delicious! Then I went to the park with Hugo and Karla. We rented this thing...I don't know what the heck you would call it, but it is like a bike cart. You sit down on a seat, but it has four bicycle wheels, and you have to pedal. It's really awkward to explain, but I will go back and take a picture for you. It was sooo much fun! We rode all around the park and took sharp turns and just had a blast. Then we walked around the city for a few hours before we came back here.

Monday was my first day of school, kind of. This week is just orientation, but it's still exciting!! There are three parts to the UVM campus, and I attend the international campus, which makes sense. There are about 25 or 30 students in my group. It's funny though, because there are two other girls from Houston, TX and one is named Lauren. SMALL WORLD! Monday was tests. Soooo not my favorite! In the morning we took a written test, then in the afternoon we all had to come back for an oral test. It was so hard. I don't find out about my placement until tomorrow, and I am so nervous! I had a lot of built up stress for the tests, so I decided to go running. I ran over to the beach and then walked along it for awhile. It was so calming. I love living on the coast. However, one time I stepped in water, in bare feet, in winter, not the best idea. THE WATER IS SUPER COLD!! I am so grateful for my home here in Chile. I have an amazing family, and I live in a gorgeous city :)

Today is Tuesday, and it was my second day of orientation. I got to sleep in, because we didn't have to be at the school until 2:30. We took pictures, because tomorrow we are registering our visas. YAY! After that we had a seminar on living in Chile and rules for our host family. It was pretty basic, except now every international student is super paranoid about getting robbed. I want to take pictures to show everyone, but apparently my camera is never safe. I know it's about using common sense, though, so I will probably venture out sometime soon and snap some shots for ya! Today Hugo got my wireless up and running. It had not been letting me connect, but somehow computer man figured out how to do it. Now I have skype capabilities, and I can blog to everyone from the comfort of my amazing bed!

Sooo that is Chile so far. I promise none of the other blogs will be this long. I had to catch you up on a lot of stuff, though. Tomorrow is my make or break day, so please pray for me!

I hope all is well! Have a great night!