Per Request

Several, okay, two people have asked me to update this since being back on American soil, so here goes nothing, trying to explain the beauty of being home and my traversing through these Continental United States.
I love being home. A lot. I don't really know how to explain the deep love I have for the United States without sounding like someone who has a Confederate flag tattooed on their ankle, but I love it. I love the diversity, the etiquette, the landscape, and feeling like I belong. A part of Chile will always be in my heart, but it's not like I was ever Chilean, nor could I have ever been.
While I am extremely satisfied with my decision to go to Chile and with the experience that I had, an experience of a lifetime, it has definitely put my entering the real world on hold. It is true what they say, life goes on. My sister had this amazing baby, my best friend had this incredible little boy, my brother graduated, Zach graduated, friends moved, life moved on without me and here I return a different person as well. It's incredible the journey that life takes you on, I have decided to continue putting myself out there on the world wide web, so that I can tell the story of me moving on post Chile, me finding a place in these United States . By the way, I have been experiencing culture shock, I have been left speechless a few times here because I am so amazed that I can just ask for what I want and it will happen within 2 minutes (anyone who knows me is probably not believing that I would be left speechless, but it happened), I have been impressed beyond belief by the customer service here, and also devastated by the things that I take for granted everyday, a warm or cool house, toilets that work, clean water, etc.
I must go appreciate this baby that my dear friend Thea has brought into the world, but until I pour my heart out again, take care and que te vaya bien!

Kienitz and Webster:Our Bolivian Safari: A Trip of a Lifetime/Waking Nightmare

"The Bolivian Border Patrol let us in for $50 US dollars, a bribe as we understood. " Kienitz

"There wasn't even a bathroom, just a plethora of Land Cruisers." Webster

"The wind was so strong we could feel our very intestines of our bodies being racked and ravaged by it." Kienitz

"There was no coca tea and I had a hard time due to the elevation." Webster

"The desert is beautiful. Vast. Incredible and harsh." Kienitz

"My mind was scrambled and I couldn't remember where I was or what had happened to get me there." Kienitz

"We covered our faces and wore our sunglasses but the dust still found its way into our lives." Webster

"Shortly after seeing some anemic looking flamingos the mighty wind came. I will never forget that storm." Kienitz

"Javier found a hospedaje for us to eat at and spoke quechua with la duena. She was dressed in true Bolivian fashion, sparkly skirt, shawl, and leg warmers and charged us to use her bathroom." Webster

"Our time at this place was dismal at best." Kienitz

"Morale was down." Webster

"We pulled into our hotel, but due to wind the water was not working so we drove around looking for a place to host and feed 18 strangers." Webster (We found a place)

"The drive was gorgeous, streams meandering through patches of green in the desert slowly being painted purple and pink by the setting sun, slowly awakening with magic and mystique." Kienitz

"I almost cried I was so cold I nearly lost the plot, but I just kept picturing getting off the plane and seeing Evey to make me feel better, also I didn't want to cry for fear that the tears would freeze to my face." Webster

"I went to sleep in a creepy, drafty, cracked, mint-green room with silky pink 'comforters'." Kienitz

The Sun Shows Its Face

"We drove in the sun and sand until we reached the salt flats, this amazing expanse of a dried up lake is 4000 miles and really extremely bizarre." Kienitz

"It was white everywhere and the only things I could see seemed like an oasis." Webster

"We went to Incahausi, an island of cacti that the Inca's used as a refuge whilst crossing the salt flats." Webster

"The huge expanse of salt white and salt forever was framed with 360 degrees of blue mountains and volcanoes and prickly pokey silly looking cactus plants poking up in the foreground." Kienitz

"I have no idea how the Inca's did it, how did they carry their food, their water, and dress for the elements?" Webster

"There also live small, scratch that, huge rodent, squirrel, rabbit beasts on the island. It had the largest tail I have ever seen, if it can survive here, there is no hope." Webster

"Two young girls packaging salt, scooping it from a large pile and into plastic bags and sealing it on a burning piece of metal." Kienitz

"Uyuni was a small place with a bit of an eerie feel to it. I didn't want to leave it felt so mysterious and different." Kienitz

"Uyuni is where we were introduced to our only hope for return to San Pedro. Flavio, Flava Fave, Payaso, etc, he is crazy. He is 24 years old and clearly still lets his amygdala make the majority of his decisions." Webster

"This part of the trip was especially long and sort of frightening. Hannah and I both admitted later we had both imagined some pretty awful daymares of armed guards and accidents, shootings, and being stranded in the deathly desert, maimed, wounded, limping, and mad." Kienitz

"We drove about thirty minutes before we ran out of gas on the road in the driest desert in the world. Why didn't he check it before he left?" Webster

"We continued on and drove through a lake with a truck stuck inside and for some reason, Flavio thought we could maneuver our way through it even though a truck twice our size couldn't, by some miracle we made it through." Webster

""It was dark, and of course, cold. I slept in two pairs of pants, three layers on top, including my jacket, two hoods up with my hat on in a down sleeping bag under two heavy blankets, that's how cold." Kienitz

"The rooms kept getting dodgier and dodgier, but in this room I had a really nice velvet bedspread to warm my cold cold body." Webster

"We consumed some instant potatoes, hot soup, and small weenies." Kienitz

"Being back at the Bolivian customs was the feeling of survival, unexpected survival." Kienitz

"Exhausted and dusty, mostly now made of dust, we ended our adventure. A bit shell shocked and thankful for life." Kienitz.

Just because it's the desert, doesn't mean it's warm.

I don't even know where to begin with this post because so much has happened.

We came, we saw, we conquered seems to fit the bill, but even that doesn't do justice to the epic experience Kristin and I shared in Chile and Bolivia. I would like to take this opportunity to thank Kristin for my sanity and also tell you all that she is an amazing friend.

We left Monday evening and arrived in La Serena (the mermaid) early Tuesday morning. We had a great time enjoying the beach, relaxing, and being attacked by gypsy woman trying to put tea in our hands.

We left La Serena and headed to San Pedro de Atacama (which happens to be the driest desert in the world). We practically went crazy on the bus ride, it was long, hot and smelly, but alas we arrived and were ready to thrive off the heat, but unfortunately there was none. It was freezing and EXTREMELY windy. We checked into our hostel which reminded me of some creepy polygamous colony in Texas and set ourselves up a few tours.

We went on a tour of the Taito geysers, now I'm not trying to be all superior here, but they didn't even hold a candle to Old Faithful, but Kristin and I still managed to laugh and have a brilliant time there. We were also supposed to have a tour of the Valle de la Muerte (Valley of Death) which was cancelled due to the ridiculous wind, in retrospect, it's a probably a good thing we didn't tempt fate by taking a tour of the Valley of Death.

Kristin and I have an affinity for Lewis and Clark (I credit my dad for this) so the Bolivia adventure will be presented through our journal entries, to honor those great men who helped write our history. It should be posted within the next few days. Enjoy that warm weather, we are jealous.

Quotes:

"Sex and the city, sex and the city, Big is big!" yelled at us while we were walking down the street by a 50 year old man (we being Honni, a red head, Kelsea, a blonde, Kristin a blonde, and me).
"You are very beautiful, very very beautiful." A man to Kristin.
"You like Michael Jackson? I dance for you." A man at a bar, he did the moonwalk for us.
"Hannah, this Virgin is for you, put it in your room like we have it in ours, she is always watching you, but if you want to do something naughty put her under your bed." Lorna and Jorge to me while giving me a goodbye gift. Imagine this is Spanish in front of my whole family. It is a good thing I am not easily embarrassed.

I am certain there will be many more quotes to come because we are off to La Serena, San Pedro de Atacama (the most arid place in the world) and Bolivia. Kristin is making my dreams come true.
We have to pack for all sorts of weather because it gets to be about 75 in the day and 9 during the night. I think I will post pictures of our outfits at some point so you can all admire our craftiness.

Miss Hannah, thanks for the entertainment.

That is what one of the letters from my students said and I think that pretty much sums up my teaching experience in Chile.
I had to host a talent show on my second to last day and I was the only one who could really enjoy it because I am the only one who really speaks English. It was very sweet though and the students were darling. One of my students (the girl I run with) got up and read a very sweet letter to me that brought tears to my eyes. I will say that leaving that school was one of the happiest moments of my life, it was like graduating high school all over again.
I don't really have time to write about everything that has happened because I am too busy celebrating my newfound freedom and trying to convince some men to take Kristin and me into Bolivia, but I will share some photos.

These are my favorite girls. I know, I know, you shouldn't have favorites, but I do.

This guy is a joker, but he was dancing the cueca (the national dance) for Kristin, doesn't he look sharp?

This is a Mapuche (an Indigenous group) dance at a school we visited. It was awesome.

A picture of Mapuche's and their handiwork.

This is Rodrigo, my new boyfriend (I don't think Zach will mind, he is very friendly). He was so cute. The kids had never seen white skin and asked their teacher if we were real.

Kristin enjoying the goodbye asado. It was delicious.

Kristin has been a real champion down here. She went on an incredible sounding hike, traveled on her own, and has made friends with everyone she meets. I will let her tell you all about this later.
Until then, what are your opinions on us entering Bolivia?

A giant hello to Hannah Webster's giant fan base!!!! I am very honored to have been given the task of "guest blogger" on the ever-exciting, highly humorous, and never disappointing 'traversing through chile' blogspot.

I have been in Chile for one week. My experiences have been full and colorful, meaningful and exciting, new and thought provoking, and....all in a fast, beautiful language that I, unfortunately, do not understand. It's a good thing I speak 'dance'.

The joys of my trip have been contained in many choice moments, a few of which I will recount for you here....

Hannah and I were able to catch each other up on many months of passed time in the morning sunlight on the porch of Hannah's house in Santiago. (She has several families and several houses across the Chilean landscape...none of you who know her are bewildered by such a feat, considering her nature of extreme and sometimes excess friendliness.) We drank tea and ate breakfast and sat and laughed in the sun, our feet up on the table and our eyes blissfully taking in the sights below. We felt like queens, rocking in our patio chairs, laughing, anticipating the coming day's adventures.

The adventures included day trips to surrounding areas...beautiful towns not too far from Santiago. Hannah has already told of these trips, but I must include the lasting impression the town of Valiparisio had on me. This town is full of intense color and perfectly situated houses on hills, and with skillful, thoughtful graffiti placed in unsuspecting places. I am inspired to mimic this town in my art. Oh, the colors!

Don't get me started on the handicrafts.

The prize moment of my trip so far has been the privilege of meeting Hannah's familia de Chile. These people are full of love and life and a desire to share it with anyone who crosses their doorway. Though it would be nice to speak Spanish just to know what is going on around me, I am more motivated to learn this language than ever before, just so I can communicate, learn, and relate to this family.

Last night, however, we were all speaking freely in a language commonly known as 'dance'. Everything was understood. (except for how Mata's hips can move.) I believe this language is similar to other universal languages such as music and smiles. Jorge and Lorna had been out until 8 pm or so. They came back from a long day and were sitting down to eat some dinner when Jorge heard the word 'dance' come from someone's mouth. Within minutes, Jorge had some Cuban music blaring, and the living room rugs had been pulled aside, transforming the room into a dance hall. Lorna gave Hannah and I a Salsa lesson, and we proceeded to have a full-on dance party for nearly an hour before we all ran out of steam and remembered our dinner.

Muy bacan! (cool)

Sincerely, Kristin

The Tinsel Hits South America

Kristin arrived Friday morning and we wasted no time getting this adventure started. Chile had a game that day and so we got right into the heart of it in downtown Santiago. I have never been in a mob scene or seen riot police but Friday I experienced both. The police had shields and were dressed to look like Ninja Turtles, I don't think that is what they were going for, but it was somehow calming. We got a bit lost and they were very helpful, I thank Kristin's beauty for this.

Here is one of many business men dressed ridiculously in support of Chile.
There were huge screens set up in various parts of the city so people could watch Chile. It was absolute madness and Chile lost, but that didn't keep people from honking their horns, blowing those horns, or containing their excitement that Chile advanced due to a tie.

Saturday we went to Pomaire the ceramic handicraft haven town that is about one hour from Santiago. We were dropped off on the side of the highway and had to find our way to the town, this proves Kristin is the best travel partner because she not only thought it was as funny as I did, she enjoyed it too. Kristin and I are a dangerous combination when it comes to handicrafts because we cannot resist them. Somehow we managed to leave the town without buying all their goods, but we definitely stimulated their economy. I would like to take this opportunity to sing Tinsel's praises because it takes a very special to trust me with their travel plans and she has done so wholeheartedly and with a great attitude even though she must be exhausted.

I loved Valparaiso the first time I went there with the Hanley's but the love was solidified experiencing it with Kristin. The whole city is an expression of art and the type of place I imagine Kristin living because it oozes creativity, individuality, and relaxation, just like her. We walked around the hills (which we were informed there are 45 of) and enjoyed the graffiti all around. We got a little bit picture crazy and will share the results of one pisco sour and a camera in our hands now.

The photos are more creative thanks to Kristin.

This photo is for you, Mom, notice the bird?

She was furious, can't you tell?

This dinosaur was ferocious.

Voodoo in the Classroom

Things have been pretty busy here, sorry for my absence dedicated blog readers (Mom and Kelsey) but I have been busy grading my students, watching the World Cup, and defending the USA's honor in it.
Some highlights from the past few days:
My host sister and brother threw a house party. This was my first ever high school party and it did not disappoint (it also included my friends another difference about Chile is that here everyone hangs out with each other regardless of age, it's not even weird). The party wrapped up around 7 a.m. but since I am old and I was in bed at 5 a.m. We threw a father's day party for Jorge the following day and were all a little worse for wear, but did not hesitate to indulge in an asado.
If I start acting more unusual than normal, I have the answer, yesterday my students asked me to close my eyes. I was expecting them to draw on my face, or give me a homemade chocolate (this happens quite frequently usually with some smooth line like, "A beautiful sweet flower for a beautiful sweet flower") but instead I am fairly certain they stole a piece of my hair for voodoo purposes. I can't be sure, but they definitely took some of my hair.
My students and I tried to watch the USA game today in class, but started a fire on accident because the t.v. cord was bad. They didn't act too surprised so I think this happens more often that one would hope.
I ate pigs head, it was really fatty. It included the meat from the face and brain. My stomach promptly punished me for that and went into spasms for the next 8 hours. How do Chileans do it? I want to be proud of them for not wasting any of the pig, but mostly I am nervous that their stomachs are not only strong enough to survive this they actually enjoy it.
Kristin Kientiz is coming down here and I could not be more excited! I am not sure if South America is ready for us, but this has been a dream ten years in the making, I can't believe it is finally coming true. If you don't hear from us, please either assume we are enjoying ourselves way too much or we have been kidnapped. I think that since we have both recently survived natural disasters we are more than cut out for any situation, Chile and Peru may not be though.

This also happened in my class, he was trying to be famous so that Hannah Montana would date him, isn't he clever? You can understand why I thought they were going to draw on my face now (don't question why I agreed to close my eyes please, I have already thought long and hard about it and the answer is, I'm in Chile).

This is me with a few of my fellow teachers during the game on Wednesday. I would like you to note that we are inside and I am wearing my scarf, headband, two coats, long johns, and I was still freezing.

I am trying to keep up with the changing times and have created a youtube account so you can view some of my favorite videos.
This is the Waka Waka performance from Tuesday. The quality isn't incredible, but I am the least technologically savvy person on the internet, so please forgive me.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mPJ2iFzD-xk

Enjoy!

Chichichi Lelele Vive Chile!

Chile won their World Cup game today! It would be impossible to be here and not know that because horns are honking, people are going wild, and there are tons of blowhorns everywhere you go. They played at 7:30 this morning and the whole city was excited about it. I woke up to take my host sister to school and all the cars were honking their horns, the students were dressed in red, white, and blue (I felt at home) and flags were all over. It was a rude awakening for me because I had made a deal with my students that we could have a party if Chile won, so I had been preparing for the party until 2 in the morning the night before. Needless to say, I was less than thrilled about all the noise, but decided to get into the spirit anyway.
I dressed up as a soccer player for school, carried a soccer ball around with me and tried my feet at dribbling it, but alas, I am no futbolista (soccer player). We spent the day doing the cheer from the title of the post, my students harassed me about being from the United States, and we danced to Waka Waka about 30 times. I would like to defend my choice of class by saying it would have been nearly impossible to have a real class because there was so much energy. It was incredible.
I feel pretty lucky to be able to be here and experience all the excitement.
I have heaps of videos to share, but google no longer uploads videos so I'm not sure how to share them, anyone have any tips?

Here is my host sister (on the left) and her friend. We made those headbands the night before. I am so patriotic!

My Return to Normality (it doesn't actually exist in Chile, but I pretend)

I decided to throw caution into the wind and live my Chilean life by going to visit friends in Temuco this past weekend. The good news is that I realized this illness has not taken away my love of dance nor my ability to have a good time, thank goodness, I was worried about that while I was stuck in my bed. I actually had the thought, "I may never have fun again, I am so bored, maybe I forgot what fun feels like" this was after about 40 puzzles and 80 games of monopoly. In retrospect I think I know why I felt that way. Monopoly really isn't all that fun. Once we all got together we decided to go to a resort town a few hours from Temuco, rent a cabana and live the luxurious life (translated ten people sharing 3 bedrooms, how luxurious).
Villarica is the love child between Red Lodge and Bozeman, it has all the necessities but has somehow managed to keep the small town vibe. It is located right on a huge lake with a stunning view of Volcano Villarica. My friends Honni, Johnny, and I decided to go for a walk late Friday night. It felt like a ghost town, we were the only ones on the road when all of a sudden two men with painted faces like the bank robbers from Point Break hailed us over to them. I was certain we were going to mugged or worse killed, and all I could think was, I only have $1 on me, they'll never believe that, but alas they were just free loving mimes. Johnny decided to have a mime off with them and I cannot remember ever laughing so hard nor being so confused. I love that this is my life in Chile.
I had a great weekend and felt ready for school so I have been going to school and listening to Waka Waka by Shakira no less than 35 times each day. The students had to prepare a 5 minute English presentation for me and as soon as I figure out how to upload those on here you will get to enjoy the hilarity that is Liceo Juanita Fernandez Solar.
I have to go catch a World Cup game, I will be cheering for Uruguay because I think a large part of my heart is still there.

Here is a list of things I have learned about Chileans, it is a work in progress, but a list nevertheless.
1. They love the Simpsons a lot, as in more than I thought anyone could.
2. They need a lesson in central heating.
3. They eat a lot of sugar and salt.
4. They know how to move their hips.
5. It is nearly impossible to have a conversation that is not full of passion. Sometimes this results in yelling during class, which is startling, but entertaining.
6. The circuses feed the street dogs to their animals. This breaks my heart and makes me think I would be the crazy dog lady here.
7. They love their families a lot.
8. They watch really bad telenovelas (soap operas) that I can't get into, but love to pretend I am.
9. Chilenismos are huge here which means they speak a little Spanish and a lot of Chilean.
10. Mi casa es su casa is actually the truth here. I have never felt more at home in a place that is not my home. They are extremely gracious and kind about including me in their lives.
11. They love Chile. They have so much pride for their country it is awesome!

I shall update this list every so often. I hope you are all doing well.

A little bit of this, a little of that, and a surprise!

Congratulations to my brother Ben! He has completed his career as a high school students and will be moving on to bigger and better things at Missoula, Montana (Ben you can thank me for answering that question before you were asked 1.3 million times by all my blog followers). I am sure we will all be reading about him in the future because that kid is going places. Also, happy birthday to my sister, she is turning the big 3-0, I am so lucky to have such great siblings (including Caleb, obviously).
I am sick again, the same dizziness, etc. I went to the doctor on Thursday night, I had an appointment for 9 p.m, but didn't actually see the doctor until 12. I guess that is Chile. He was very nice and must have been exhausted, I sure was. I watched two episodes of "Are you smarter than a 5th grader?" Chilean style and realized I am definitely not. On the upside, I understood everything that he told me. He took special note that I was an American, I think he automatically knew I was from a family of attorneys because he was thorough. He put me on some medicine, made an appointment for ten days, forbid me from working for 10 days, and wished me the best. I think I will be feeling like new in no time. I will be productive throughout this time, I have already planned my lessons, whoa! I hope they actually work considering I planned them in less than stellar condition.
Now, for the surprise, this is what I saw on my walk today(I know, I know, bed rest, but I was going crazy). It was the size of my hand ( I have small hands, but even still, you can imagine this was huge). I am so glad I do not suffer from arachnophobia or else I would have nightmares for days, I would also like to thank my mother for not allowing me to see the film Arachnophobia, she saved me from years of living in fear in our basement.

.

Turn your attention this way, please.

My little brother is a superstar, even though he is anything but little. I am so proud of him!

http://billingsgazette.com/news/local/education/article_5e63f8d6-6951-11df-903c-001cc4c03286.html

Since I gave up scrapbooking before I started I put it on my blog.

This montage of beauty is from Puerto Varas, enjoy!

Photos taken by Kelsea Anderson, the great.

Driving, Swimming, and Eating

Chileans really love driving and Jorge is no exception. This has greatly been to my benefit considering that I have seen some truly beautiful things since I have been living with la familia Flores. This weekend I went to some thermal hot springs, on a tomato hunt, and to little Italy.
Friday was a national holiday (Glorias Navales) because according to my host father, Arturo Pratt (who liberated Chile and won the northern town of Iquique) fell off a boat. I am not convinced that is the whole story, but it was confirmed by my students as well, so who knows. It does seem like the Chileans love to celebrate anything, I am submitting a day for me. Anyway, because of this we decided to take advantage of the day off and relax in some thermal hot springs. I was fully expecting to drive to some remote little area, hike a bit and indulge in mother nature's treat, but instead found myself at one of Chile's finest resorts. It was glorious, we relaxed, lunched, and relaxed some more. I even made a friend who invited me to her home next weekend, which proves that Chileans are among the most hospitable in the world. The drive was beautiful, the time delightful, and the water was a dream. I did get stared at quite a bit due to my pale nature, and little kids were really into trying to touch my skin, it was hilarious.
Chile is full of little surprises: hot springs, earthquakes, Puerto Varas, pigs that live on the street and little immigrant communities. Today I visited a little Italian community, Capitan Pastene, about an hour from Angol and that boasts the best Italian in Chile. Once inside the restaurant you would have no idea you were in a country that worships hot dogs. It is seriously delicious. I didn't really believe my family when they were talking about it, I was like, "Yeah, yeah, you think my cooking is delicious, I'm not really going in with high hopes." I was pleasantly surprised. The ambience of the restaurant was absolutely delightful and the noodles and sauces are made right in front of you. We happened to run into a priest that they know so we broke bread (literally) with a priest while talking about the Vatican, it was so Italian. It was absolutely delicious and the women were very anxious to serve me (just like Italian mothers in films, it was so cliche).

The Resort

Pasta Factory

Another view

The Plaza and the earthquake (Lorna was very nervous about us posing on this).

La Iglesia (and the earthquake damage).

Falling in Love

Some love develops over time and some love happens so quickly it's as if you have only blinked your eyes and there you are, deep in that I CAN'T-BELIEVE-THIS-IS-REAL type of love. This is the love I have for Puerto Varas. Leaving there was the hardest thing I have done in 2010, I am only being semi-dramatic. I am convinced that all the stars aligned and rewarded me for something I did in a past life because the weekend was incredible. I just wish futuristic email had existed then so I knew what it was and could repeat the cycle.
We (being my friends Kelsea, Honni and I) started our journey a bit tired because we stayed out dancing all night the night before but we had plenty of time for napping because the bus ride was about 5 hours. We are still unsure of why the bus couldn't drop us off in the actual town, so we started the journey on the side of the highway but were soon hitchhiking/walking ourselves into what we hoped was the right direction. Chileans keep proving to me that they are genuinely kind people because we were soon picked up by a really sweet music teacher who dropped us off in the town plaza. The stars aligned again because the hostel that had been recommended to us just happened to be sitting there waiting for our weary selves to walk right in and take over. We dropped our stuff off and began our grand adventure.
Puerto Varas is a lovely little German establishment that is right on a gorgeous lake with a view of two large volcanoes. We awed and oohed over the view for quite a while and then decided to try our hands at being voyeurs and checked out the neighborhoods. The architecture was unbelievable. It was straight out of a fairy tale, what I picture Hansel and Gretel to be like (before the witches and cooking of children, etc) and there were various houses offering freshly made kuchen, pies, and cakes. It may be heaven on earth.
We stumbled upon this ridiculous looking home turned into a museum(Pablo Fierro Museum). It looked like a Tim Burton creation, but it said it was free and who am I to pass up a free museum? We walked into the most bizarre world of trinkets, antiques, paintings, and drawings. We were completely clueless about who this eccentric genius could be and dumbly asked, "Who is Pablo Fierro?" We were expecting him to be some dead guy, but alas he was the living breathing man in front of us. He led us around, told us about his vision, and let us wander around his world. He was so incredibly kind and had the most gentle eyes. We wandered around and I picked out some decorations for my future home (which leads me to a far more loaded question, what should I do after this adventure? I am open to most suggestions, I can't believe I just asked that on my blog, my mom is going crazy trying to gather all her suggestions).
We ended our near perfect day (the only blunder being we were nearly attacked by a gang of stray dogs) by dancing our hearts out and relishing in the beauty of Chile.
We spent Saturday wandering around Puerto Varas and falling victim to the many handicrafts, I can't resist handmade sweaters for my nieces, especially not when the women are telling me that it will look so cute on them. I know they have no idea what she looks like, but I also know that my nieces are darling in anything, clearly I am still justifying my actions.
We also went on a beautiful walk along the river to the next town over. We also stopped along the way to admire the houses and were offered a tour of one of the houses. It was gorgeous and made us all wish we worked for House and Home so we could tour gorgeous lake houses all the time.
I know this is a bit lengthy, but I am clearly in deep love and cannot stop myself.
Unfortunately I was completely absentminded and forgot to buy batteries so I have very few pictures, but check out pablofierro.cl and enjoy the few photos I have.

At the Pablo Fierro Museum.

I fell in love with this home (that is a volcano in the background).

This church is awesome and made out of corrugated tin, I'm sure the priest loves giving his homily during the rain (and yes, it does rain a lot).

Bedbugs

There are not just a cute little saying like I thought, they really do bite and cause terrible itchiness. I don't know what Chilean bugs have against me, but I would like to call a truce. Now. I am not terribly upset by these buggers yet though because I am still on cloud nine love from my weekend in Puerto Varas. I will write more about that later, but until then, I hope you all are well, sleep tight, and DON'T let the bedbugs bite!
Kathy, thanks for the sweet letter, it arrived today and made my whole day! 17 days is not bad for the South American continent, I'm impressed considering it takes 2 hours to buy meat.
More later, until then, ciao!

Me voy me voy me voy!

There is a song here that says, "te vas, te vas, te vas" which means you go, you go, you go! I love it and always change the words for my students, they are not so keen on it, but I get a real kick out of it so there! If you ask really nicely sometime I may sing it for you.
I am headed south to the land of chilly weather tonight and will spend a few days touring a German settlement named Puerto Varas so I will be incommunicado for a few days. I hope you all survive without me. You can call me drama queen.
I am going by bus so I may make another star friend!

Feliz dia de los alumnos

Chile has a day for everything, a day for the police, for the teachers, for mothers, fathers, saints, and even students. They love to party.
I was very unclear about what exactly was going to happen and was thoroughly entertained by the result. School started a bit late and the students were served completos for breakfast, I think this picture speaks for itself as to why Chileans are the picture of health.


Then they spent a few hours doing activities, which really means they were dancing to reggaeton very dirtily on school property. I think that speaks to why so many of my students are with child.
The funniest part of the day was the show that the teachers put on for the students. They went all out, there were hilarious costumes, funny skits, dances, and even a circus. I participated in a hip hop/country line dance and it was pretty funny to be dancing for over 1000 high school students. It was very strange because afterwards people were saying congratulations to me like I had accomplished something, when really all I did was do what I love and pretend it was for the students. That's like eating a blizzard for the calcium, I tried that joke out here but no one knew what a blizzard was. It's okay if you feel sorry for them too.

Los Charros de Hannah

The teachers were the students. I nearly wet my pants during this, too much information, sorry.

I got a Feliz dia de Mama present...

Don't stress, I am not going to be a Mom, scared you though, huh? I got a rose for Mother's day from my host father because someday I will be a mom. He is so sweet. He told me, it better not be too soon, I want to meet your husband before you have any kids, but someday you will be a mom. Jorge cracks me up.
Happy Mother's Day to all the mothers that read my blog. You truly do deserve a day to celebrate yourselves. I hope you sufficiently celebrate all that you are and all that you do for your children. Shout out to my mom, I love you Mom.
I think Jorge got me the rose because I was acting so domestic this weekend. I baked some cakes for various birthdays and one for my host mother for Mother's day and today I cooked a Mother's day feast for our family. I love cooking for them because they always tell me that my cooking is divine, hint, if you want me to cook or bake you anything just tell me you like it, give me a few compliments and I'll cook for you anytime.
Tidbits from my days:
I also went out to celebrate a birthday last night to a nightclub named Tequila, which oddly has no tequila.
Today I stood in a line to buy meat and had to wait for 39 other people to purchase theirs before me. I don't know who needs to come down here and show them how to be efficient, but they cannot come soon enough, I could feel myself getting older in the line. And it was normal here, how can they be so patient? I guess maybe I should thank the grocery stores though because perhaps they contribute to the patience of the people when I am speaking Spanish, they are used to things moving slowly and not quite making sense.
Have a great week!

The Tequila, sin tequila but with plenty of dancing!
I posted this mostly to prove I have some Chilean friends.

Some highlights!

Highlights from the week:
My students now understand the word complaining and that I don't like it. I am my mother's daughter.
I went to spinning again last night and was the only student so there was a lot of yelling, "dale Hannah Montana, dale, va va va, eso es" (Give it Hannah Montana, give it, go, go, go, that's it). I thought I was going to die, but alas, here I am to tell the tale and now Alex and I are great friends. He has some pretty elaborate plans for my life, so it should be an interesting friendship. He also told me that I am the only student that understands the lyrics to the songs he chooses so he wants me to translate. That seems to be the thing people want from me here, translation of songs and anything from the US that I may have.
The season is changing and Angol is absolutely gorgeous.
Cata (my ten year old host sister) and I have been creating smoothies and using their juicer like it is our job. We have created some delicious creations.
I threw a Cinco de Mayo party for my host family. They love Mexican food like I do. It's a perfect relationship.
I taught the electric slide to my students yesterday and that was an absolute hit. They love dancing and I love doing anything that keeps their attention.
Happy Graduation to Zach, Samantha, and all of the class of 2010, way to go! I will be celebrating your accomplishment tomorrow by baking lots of cakes, going to an asado (barbecue) and dancing.

Autumn in Angol

Life is pretty good.

Spinning in Chile

I decided to take my Spanish to the next level and attempt an aerobic class here, well actually not an aerobic class, a Spinning class. Clearly I feel lost not working in a gym and needed to revisit that chapter of my life, unfortunately they don't sell protein shakes at this gym so I am having a rough time getting sufficient amounts of powdered protein, dang.
The class was hilarious, the instructor had no idea what to do with a gringa (the polite term used to describe English speakers here) and so he just kept coming right up to me and yelling in my face. I laughed pretty hard, sweated, remembered why I like group fitness classes, and sang my heart out to Cher. I was the only one in the room who understood the lyrics and yes I do believe in life after love, thank you very much Cher.
I thoroughly enjoyed myself and believe that during those classes will be the only times I am warm in this city since they do not believe in central heating.
Also, does anyone know what a widget is? I feel left out of the 21st century because it baffles me.

Bussing it through Chile

may be my new favorite past time. I met the kindest clown on there today. He was full of interesting facts and we had the best conspiracy theory conversation I have ever had. He believes that the men in black really do exist, there are aliens living amongst us (and I may be one for all he knows), that Area 51 has more secrets than even the president knows, and he wants to come to Montana. I think we may be best friends. He made the 8 hour ride much more entertaining and we appreciated the beauty of the drive together. All the leaves are changing, it is incredibly gorgeous here and I can't believe I forgot my camera. Yikes. I am seriously failing on this blog. My apologies. The drive also allowed me to see more destruction which included entire bridges collapsed in rivers, it was insane and made me grateful once again that I am alive and well.
I hope you are all doing well.

I didn't take this picture, but I did pass by this road. This is one of many, I can only imagine how scary it would have been to be on the road during it, yikes!

Culture Shock

Chileans are inefficient. I know that sounds egocentric and like I am not culturally sensitive, but if you ask most Chileans I think they would agree with you. Example: I went to the bank yesterday and it took 1.5 hours to do something I am positive would take 10 minutes in the USA.

Another example, my students were supposed to give a powerpoint presentation this week, so I did not lesson plan, but alas they failed to complete the assignment and I had to come up with lessons on the spot. I'm not sure if I can blame this on the culture or the age, but either way I sound bad, so I guess I have to let it go.

The male teachers at my school have been pretty funny towards me, they love to say the only phrase they know, "You look pretty today Hannah Montana," I never tire of hearing that. They also asked me to prepare something for the Student's Day which is May 11th. The students here are pretty lucky because they get an entire day honoring them, no classes, just games, food, and dancing the electric slide with me. We practiced yesterday and it was hilarious, they were more concerned about their outfits and hats than I was concerned about my dress and hair at prom. Chileans are hilarious.

I am in Santiago now, I took the night bus and arrived safely to the refuge that is Marilyn's house. Have a great weekend (tenga un buen fin de semana)!