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)!

Cliff Jumping, Rodeos, and Dancing

Esteemed Readers,
I am sorry to disappoint you all a.k.a my Mom and Kelsey, for being so late on the updates but I have been a busy bee. My friends from Temuco (a town about 2.5 hours away) and we made the most of our time together. We made an "American" dinner for my family, which consisted of tacos, Spanish rice, chocolate chip cookies, and Chilean cookies called cocopillos...I think we are all going through a national identity crisis.
Saturday we had a late start because we all had a little too much fun on Friday night, but my day started beautifully because I got an amazing package from my Mom that included Oprah, stickers, and Montana magazines. Who besides Dr. Phil and all American women knew Oprah could brighten a day so much? After a leisurely start we hiked to a quarry that reminded me of Breaking Away. The hike was gorgeous and the quarry was incredibly beautiful. My wild adventurous side took over and convinced me that I needed to jump off the cliff even though it was only 50-60 degrees outside and even colder in the water. It took my breath away, but made me feel so alive. I guess that is what happens once the air comes back, you remember how important living is. We gathered wood and made ourselves a campfire to keep warm. It was so fun and made even better by the fact that I didn't have to sleep outside because my host sister is so kind and gracious she agreed to pick my friend Kendra and I up so we could sleep warmly in beds. My host family is awesome.
Sunday I went to the local rodeo which is now on the top of my list of most disturbing things I have seen. The idea is to pin the bull in four different places and after watching this I decided that PETA has done good things in the USA. It was incredibly disturbing and sad to see the bulls knocked down to the ground and be trampled by horses. Mom, don't be concerned if you start getting PETA packages in the mail for me, just forward them down here.
Tonight may have been the highlight though because after once my host father turned on some Cuban music and Lorna have me a lesson in Cuban dancing. She may be the undercover Shakira because she can make her hips move in ways I thought only existed in music videos. We had a pretty fun dance party and my body is already sore.
Que te vaya bien (go well).

At Cantera Deuco, little did I know just how foreshadowing this was.

The Quarry, I am not going to tell my Mom what I jumped off of, all she needs to know is that I am alive.

This bridge reminded me of my Grandpa. It was a gift from Pennsylvania and is really beautiful and in the middle of nowhere.

This was before the horrific mistreatment.

Doesn't the crowd just look awesome. I loved them.

The Chilean flag. On the other side of the man is a table with champagne glasses. I was looking for the PBR and Coors, but it was nowhere to be found, no wonder it wasn't as fun as the ones in Montana.

I know you are all dying for photos of me dancing, but I have a new policy which does not include giving out blackmail photos on my blog.

Proposals by sophomores to date: 12

Times I have found myself in the middle of an assembly as a dancer:1
Times I have had absolutely no idea what is going on around me: Countless
Today I had the most elaborate proposal I have had yet, one of my students proposed to me through song. He played his guitar and sang me a song and at the end got down on one knee and tried to give me a ring he had fashioned from a gold candy wrapper. It broke my heart to say no, but alas, I did. I have a lot of the students asking me to have their babies, if they can live with me in the US, if I will marry them, and my personal favorite is if I am already pregnant with their babies.
I started a running club with one of my students, which actually makes it a duet, but that's getting a bit technical. We have been running every day, it's been super fun and I really like her. Also, it makes me feel awesome and young that I can keep up with her because I have been feeling old. The kids here love music, so much so that they constantly play it from their cell phones. It is actually really annoying, saying that makes me feel like I am a 75 year old woman talking about "kids these days" but seriously, Chilean kids these days. Remember though, I can totally keep up with a 15 year old runner.
I hope you are all well. Cheers!

A weekend to remember...

Happy late birthday to my older brother Caleb, geesh, you are getting old.
And in even more exciting news, welcome to the world Nora Lou Sather! I can't wait to meet that little girl. Not to brag, but I have the two most adorable nieces ever.
This past weekend I went to Osorno with my host family and met Jorge's entire family. They are also very kind, although, I think they were scared to talk to me because few of them did. His mother is just about the cutest thing in the world, she reminds me of Tweety Bird's mother. She is absolutely adorable.
We got there late Friday night and I took a tour of a school there and then had once with Jorge's sisters and brothers. There was a lot of chatting, most of which I didn't understand so I just sat with a smile on my face and laughed when everyone else laughed.
Saturday we took the most beautiful drive through the country to a beach town where we watched the sunset. It was the most picturesque drive I have ever been on and also one of the most beautiful sunsets I have ever seen. It was really cold, but we had the good fortune of finding a sweet little restaurant and enjoying it all by the warmth of the fire. As I was sitting there watching the sunset I thought, "this is almost like being in Oregon" until I saw a drift of pigs frollicking on the beach. I love when the world reminds me that this is definitely not the United States.
I also started driving this week, which either makes me really brave or really stupid, I guess only time will tell.

The gorgeous sunset.

Part of La Familia Flores

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