Yo tengo scared porque no tengo mi handkerchief

I had a nice relaxing weekend to start my one month break. I relaxed Saturday and talked with my family. Judith's brother and sister have been staying with us...they are fun to talk to. I am getting much better at understanding Spanish but my speaking abilities have not been getting much better...tengo que practicar.

Santiago a mil (Santiago's $2 theater program) has been sponsoring some kind of giant doll show. These two dolls have been walking around the city controlled with cranes...pretty cool. There were 2 million people watching Saturday...the metro was crazy...barely enough room to expand your chest for every breath.

I was planning on playing basketball on Saturday but Esteban was busy so I hung out with my family. I met up with everyone at Esteban's later in the night. We had a good night...Christian took us to a Casino at about 3am but I did not participate in the gambling activities...he was nice enough to taxi us all home later as well. He has been a really good friend to us I owe him big time.

I woke up relatively early on Sunday to go to a family's pool party with Cynthia, her mom, and her sister. We went to a VERY nice house on the outskirts of Santiago. We had a very nice time. They had a beautiful pool, big house, and a great view of Santiago and the Andes. I tried to capture it in the pictures but it doesn't do justice.

The people here are extremely kind and generous. I was fed non-stop, cleaned up after, and catered to the whole time! They really take care of the gringos here. They even got us KFC for lunch...que rico! The house we went to was Doris's (Cynthia's mom) Brother's house. Cachai? But Doris's brother is traveling...so it was just her sister-in-law.

Doris thought the English word was "Sister-in-love" so it was funny to hear her say that when she was trying to explain it to us

Doris's Sister-in-love is a gringa! Better yet...from Pennsylvania. Small world. She was really helpful and talked to us for hours about life in Santiago. It was a great afternoon. They even insisted I take a nap after lunch and they prepared a place for me to sleep. I love it here! Cynthia says it will be very depressing to go home because she won't be like a princess anymore. The people here treat us really well.

We stayed at the pool all day until about 11pm at night. I had a good time. We went back to Cynthia's house and watched slumdog millionaire. I really liked it. I caught a bus to my University to walk home. Some guy was being shady and he followed me around in his car driving really slowly staring at me. He rolled VERY slowly through a green light and took his car around the block. I looked behind me and he was coming back my way so I decided it would probably be best to run instead of risk an altercation. I ran for about a block and I rounded the corner or my apartment building. He pulled up beside it and watched me go inside...you never know what someone is up to driving alone on a Sunday morning at 4am cachai? I will have to wait for another day to get some street cred...I am just happy I made it in safe.

P.S...please don't worry about me or stress for any of you who are concerned with me walking around or anything. I can always run away (which I did)...their little chilean legs couldn't keep pace for 3 meters. Hakuna Matata!

nos vemos

El ultimo dia de clases

Friday was the last day of classes until March 8th...boo yah. After our final exam we went to the museum of precolombian culture. It is a museum of all the art before the Spanish influence in Latin America. Check out some of the pics on the right. There is a picture there of two mumified babies. They are from a group of the oldest mummies in the WORLD. Over 7000 years old to be exact (well I guess it's not really exact but you catch my drift).

After the museum, which was really cool, we went back to the University to get lunch. They have the best deals. A plate of ham, rice, mashed potatoes, jelly, bread, juice, and a soda all for about $3.80 USD. Can't beat it. The dollar is getting stronger down here as well.

After lunch we had about an hour to kill while we waited for Isabel to have her meeting with us. Some of us slept in the grass (note picture above) and the rest of us talked and joked around on campus.

The meeting was nice...Isabel is really cute she is an older lady and she takes really good care of us. She speaks English but we mostly talk to her in Castellano. I will try to get a picture of her soon. Actually there is a picture of her posted already if you wanna check it out. It is the picture from last weekend where we are all sitting at a long table, she is on the right.

After the meeting with Isabel we took the metro over to Esteban's house so he could take us out to get our bus tickets. They were about $120 USD round trip for a 20 hour ride each direction. I'm not really familiar with US prices but I guess that is pretty decent.

We parted ways after buying tickets and I went back for a siesta. It was Friday night so I figured all of us were getting together. I took a shower and caught the metro over to Cynthia's house because she lives closer to everyone else.

Christian's cousin died yesterday in a car crash...he was only 24. It looks like he fell asleep at the wheel driving early in the morning. It was a sad loss for his family. Please keep him in your prayers. The funeral kind of put a damper on our plans and we all decided it would be best and respectful if we took it easy. I just hung out at Cynthia's and watched a movie.

I caught a bus home (packed like sardines) and made my way home. I got to sleep in for the first time in weeks!

Hasta pronto

Senorita, que paso! Digame!

We made our travel plans for February on Thursday...very productive day.

Cynthia and I had our presentation in class...it went pretty well. Afterwords we had lunch and went back to hang out at my house for a little. I met with Isabel (the International Student Liaison) about my classes. I need to get one approved by SJU...but right now it looks like I will be taking three courses. Tue, Wed, Thur...four day weekends! It will still count as a full courseload for me back at SJU. The course I took this month counts as one, and my course on Thursday counts as two because there is weekly community service and a written component I send back to SJU (totals to 5 courses). It is a pretty good situation.

After I met with Isabel, I made myself a dinner of rice and eggs and went over to Christian's house to discuss our travel plans. Here is our horario:

Tuesday Feb 2nd-Feb 9th
San Pedro de Atacama: Northern Chile, beautiful desert and views of the mountains

Thurday Feb 11th-Feb 18th
Montevideo, Uruguay: Christian has friends there and aparently the beaches are absolutely amazing

Febx-March/Febx:
Southern Chile: We don't have exact dates for this yet but we are making the plans tonight.

I am very very excited for the opportunity to do this kind of stuff and I can't wait to start the adventure. We are taking a 20 hour bus ride to the north on Tuesday, then coming back down to Santiago, then leaving on a plane to Uruguay. We will fly back to Santiago, then most likely fly down to Southern Chile and work our way back up through the cities in a bus. I will fill you in on any new details...the blog entries will inevitably become more scarce but I'll try my best!

Chao

Yo I got a Chilean ID though

Counting down the days until vacation in February! Wednesday was a productive fun day for me. After classes in the morning we went right to the government building to pick up our Chilean IDs. Mine was ready to go (check out the picture) but they lost Cynthia’s and Dana’s so they needed to do the process all over again. The ID is pretty cool. Part of it is raised and it has my fingerprint on the back and everthing. Bacan. After the ID place we went to a quaint little restaurant in town called Burger King. For about $5 USD I got two cheeseburgers, two small fries, two sodas, and a sundae…not bad.

I am still not very good at ordering food. Little things trip me up…they speak very quickly and it is hard for me to determine the difference between: “did you already get ketchup?” or “do you still need ketchup?” and most of the time I just answer with a complete sentence “I would like ketchup please”…which probably sounds weird to the locals but it’s how I compensate for my lack of understanding at the moment!

After the BK lounge we went back to Cynthia’s to work on our homework/group project. We had to work on a presentation about a story called “ojo silva” and for another class we had to present on the Mapuche tribe. Ojo silva is a story about a homosexual photographer that finds himself in an Indian brothel with 10 year old castrated boys…it was a very difficult story to read but it brought up some very interesting class discussions. In the 1960’s members of the Mapuche tribe were arrested for sacrificing a 5 year old boy. The judge ruled that “they were driven by uncontrollable forces of their heritage and culture” and they received two years in prison (the sacrifice was very brutal…I won’t give details but google it if you’re interested!).

I went home to eat some food. Our hot water was broken (I had to take ice showers), but when I got home a man was there fixing it. I heated myself up some dinner and changed. We went bowling! It was really really fun. It was $4 each for an hour of play and shoes…Christian knows the good deals of the city. I’ll try to get some pictures up once the girls post them on facebook. After bowling we went to a sushi restaurant…it was the cheapest sushi we could find but it was still very good. The ingredients are very fresh and they can catch almost anything off the coast. We had a nice dinner (if you call 1am dinner time) and Christian dropped us all off at our houses…he’s a good guy.

el gringo estupido

I made my first Gringo mistake on Tuesday.

Well the day started off fine, I had class until 1pm. We tried to get out Chilean ID's but the government headquarters was closed. I had a nice lunch of rice and mystery food...my typical meal.

I was excited for my afternoon because it was Nick's last day here (he was just visiting Kristin for a week). We were going to a barbecue in a local park. I went to the metro to take out money (for the first time). I popped in my debit card and took out about $40 worth of pesos. I was so caught up with counting the money, getting my receipt, and being aware of the people around me I forgot my card in the machine...

I was really upset with myself for being so careless. I went straight back to my house, called my card in as lost and had a self imposed "time-out" to collect myself and make sure this kind of thing didn't happen again. I ended up falling asleep and I missed the barbecue. Apparently it was really nice and there were wild horses and food and music and stuff...but at least I learned my lesson.

I hung out with my mom for a while and we talked about various things. She said she was going to the grocery store and I asked to tag along. Francisco ended up coming as well. It was cool browsing around their different foods and meats. Prices are pretty similar I think (I didn't do much grocery shopping in the states). It is still very hard for me to talk to anyone who doesn't treat me like a baby...but I'm learning every day.

After the grocery store I met up with everyone at Esteban's house. It was his brother's birthday and he had a lot of friends over. They were really cool. When I arrived...Esteban's brother made me promise (for his birthday) to speak ONLY in Castellano (spanish) the entire night...even to my American friends. I did it! It was pretty hard and frustrating at times...but for about 6 hours I spoke in only Spanish to everyone. I was pretty proud of myself...and I was still able to make jokes and laugh with my new chilean friends.

I took the bus home with one of my new chilean friends...I think he grew a little overconfident in my abilities and started talking very quickly with slang on the bus. I nodded my head and smiled...I had done enough work for the night!

Chao

represent represent

One week of class left before break!

I woke up for class around 7 after my usual four hours of sleep. We had to present today on a subject we learned about in class at some point. Cynthia and I decided to present on Sincretismo. Sincretismo is the idea of mixing cultures from different parts of the world to create new unique ideals. We decided to talk about American influence on Chilean/Latin American culture.

We used the band Aventura as en example. They are a Bachata band from the Bronx/Dominican Republic. They mix English and Spanish throughout each song. Find them on Youtube if you wanna hear.

Despues de clase, I had a meeting to discuss my classes with Isabel (our liaison at the University). I will only take three classes this semester (when it starts in March) because I am taking Intensive Spanish right now...and another class will count double. Hopefully I can have Fridays and Mondays off!

We all went to lunch together, then Cynthia and I went to Esteban's to hang out. Cynthia read up on our homework (she is a much better Spanish student than me) while I beat Esteban FOUR TIMES IN A ROW in Madden '10! Representing the states. The reading was really difficult even for Cynthia so Esteban read it and explained it to us (in Spanish) with terminology we could understand. Cynthia and I need to present to the class on Thursday about the reading for a half hour so we have some work to do.

I went home and had a nice dinner of pasta and chicken with my mom and brother here...it was very nice. Now I am hanging out in my room but I am going to go to sleep SUPER early tonight (midnight) to replenish my sleep bank.

If anyone has ANY questions please ask with a comment on the site or an email to me (Moyer48@gmail.com) It makes it easier to talk about things I know you guys are interested in! Hope you are enjoying my journal so far...I promise it will get more exciting when we start our traveling in two weeks!

Hasta Manana

el gato frito, porfa'....3rd weekend in Chile

Hola todos,

Another great weekend in Chile...I can't believe time is flying by so fast. It was a relaxed weekend. The 19 of us (plus Kristin's boyfriend Nick) went to Valparaiso on Saturday. We left in a bus at 9am. When we arrived, we toured around the city. Valparaiso is right next to Vina del Mar (where I went last weekend). Vina del Mar is the tourist location, but Valparaiso is the port city and it's where Chile has its cute little Naval base! They could probably hold off a shark attack but not much more.

We stopped at one of Pablo Neruda's houses. He has three. One in Santiago, one in Valparaiso, and the other in Isla Negra (going there in March). It was really interesting. We took a tour with a portable telephone type device that talked to us about each different location in the house. Pictures weren't allowed inside and it was a really foggy day so the ones I have aren't very good sorry. My favorite part was the map he had of the Americas in his office. It was really funny.

The map was made in the 40's I think. According to the map, the northern U.S border is Virginia (Canada gets the rest) and California is a long separate island. There was even a name for the ocean in between the U.S and California...how does that happen?

We all went to a VERY nice lunch on the coast with a nice view of the ocean. The school paid for everything. We had appetizers, wine, and some very nice seafood entres. I chose some random fried fish that was recommended to me by my bus driver. I talked with my bus driver for about an hour. I asked him about American stereotypes and differences between our countries...it was a very interesting conversation. He said Americans have a good reputation for the most part, but they know very little about Latin American culture...specifically differences between the countries. To them, Argentina is a completely differernt world from Chile. And Uruguay is very different from Ecuador...but Americans tend to clump everything together. The language between countries is even different. A Chilean could say a sentence and an Argentinian would have no idea what they were saying. I think my bus driver was right...especially in my case. I'm happy to have this experience to broaden my view on the world.

We spent a few HOURS trying to find a hostel because some classmates wanted to stay in Valparaiso for the night, but a couple of us just went back to Santiago and hung out at Esteban's. He had some Chilean friends over...they were really nice and cool (no surprise there).

We all went out to dinner on Sunday to get Nick some American food (he has been here like three days and he is already going crazy). I had calamari...very very good. We talked about our plans for February.

We want to take a bus to the north of Chile (20 hours) hang out up there for a few days. Come back to Santiago, take a bus/fly south...then tour our way back up through different cities. Maybe go to Uruguay? Apparently they have some of the nicest beaches on the planet. We have some work to do this week on planning that since our vacation from classes starts FRIDAY! We have over a month off (close to a month and a half). I will keep you guys updated on my plans and try to keep up with this more frequently this week! Thanks to everyone supporting me and checkin in!

Buenas

P.D...I'm growing a mullet to better fit in with the locals... I'll post some pictures of my hair once it starts getting ridiculous in a month or so!

Bagels and Water Fountains

Thursday was another nice relaxing day. In class we learned about more Latin American stories. We had to create our own funny story about discrimination and present it to the class, then we had to act out another story we read in front of everyone. It was a lot of fun...they do a good job of making class fun and productive here. Above and to the right are some pictures of my school here and my little room...cozy!

There are a lot of little things that people miss here in Chile. There are no water fountains...you have to pay for every sip of water here unless you are in your house. If you ask for a water in restaurants you get a glass bottle. My friends were also saying how much they would pay for a bagel! I heard you will miss the tiniest things the most when you go away...but the things Chile DOES have really make up for the little things. Every morning before my shower I have to light up our gas water heater with a match...it was funny to hear my mom attempt to explain the process to me my second day here. Since I had never heard of doing that before I was frustrating her when she was trying to explain it to me!

Most people dress really nice here. When I went to the "hogar de cristo" all the homeless men were wearing dirty suits. Even in 34 degree weather (93 Fahrenheit) men still dress in slacks and a button down shirt. My wardrobe of 33 t-shirts really helps me stick out as a gringo.

After class I hung out with Tara and Cynthia for a while. Then I got a shower and Cynthia and I went to her house. I hung out with her brother Nicolas for a while. He showed me his PS3. In America you can find them for about $200 USD...but in Chile they run $500.000 pesos ($1000 USD)! Games are also twice as expensive. Nico and I got along well...but I was frustrating him a little bit when I was playing the game because I wasn't very good...and my zombie killing spanish terminology in command form isn't very good yet either!

I bid farewell to Nico and everyone went out for dinner (Me, Loyola girls, Esteban, Christian, and Kristin's pololo (boyfriend) Nick). Everything is really chillllllled out in Chile. I didn't get my dinner until EVERYONE else had finished eating...they forgot a lot of what we ordered...but that is all normal here! You have to constantly remind the waiter so he checks on your food but I kind of like it...it's relaxing. If you don't ask for the check they won't bring it out for you...you can sit the entire night until closing.

After we had dinner for about 4 hours...we went out to a little club in Bellavista. Once again...front of the line in for free...I feel like "s-n-double Oh-p, d-oh-double G" (Snoop Dogg for those of you who are over the age of 35). We had a good time but they cut off the electricity for maintenance around midnight so we took a bus back to Esteban's to hang out for a while. We always have a fun hanging out and laughing with/at each other.

We caught a group cab back to our respective houses one by one...got the usual 3.5 hours of sleep and got back on the daily grind!

te vaya bien

Mullets and Fanny Packs

Most people here wear bananos (fanny packs) and mullets are pretty big too. Muscle shirts are not uncommon with young people. They party like it's 1985! On the right is my only picture I have of the beach in Vina from a car...not too good but at least you get the idea. Today was a relaxing day since we were out so late last night. Being out late is the norm here in Chile...my mom is awake until about 2am most nights...its just the lifestyle here. Even with work or class at 8:30 people will stay up very late to hang out at a friends house or watch a movie or chat or something.

Class was fun today, we all had to talk about a typical Chilean dish. I talked about polotos granados. Its a bean dish normally eaten in the summers. Cynthia's mama told me about it and I tried my best to learn all my new kitchen and cooking vocab. After class we had lunch in the cafeteria. I had rice (people eat rice or potatoes almost every day) and some kind of meaty gravy sauce. I don't ask too many questions I just eat! Cynthia and Tara came over to my house for a little and we watched some TV and listened to some music. I walked them back to school at 3 because they had a meeting with our coordinator. I went back to my house and took a realllly nice siesta.

After my siesta I did some work on the computer and had dinner with Francisco and Judith. We always have a good time. We had a meat pasta dish. Que rico! I hung out in the kitchen with Judith for a while and we talked about life. It's a lot different here in Chile. She deals with a lot of health problems and her close family members are beginning to pass away. She tells me that no matter what she always smiles because sometimes it is the only thing you have. She is always positive even through all her health issues and family problems. I joked with her and said maybe she should start being sad and angry so her problems go away! I am learning Spanish quickly.

After dinner I hung out on the computer and I'm getting ready to call it an early night at 2am! We have class at 8:30 for much of this week so some siestas will be in order.

Thanks to everyone reading up on my trip!

Chao

back at it

Sorry it's been a few busy days. Monday I took it easy and relaxed for the most part. Caught up with some school stuff and prepared for the week. I'll take this time to point out all my friends in the picture to the right. Starting from the far left. Mark, Dana, Tara, Esteban, Kevin, Christian, Cynthia, Kristin. So hopefully you can put a face to a name if I talk about them. That picture is from Esteban's beach house by the way.

Tuesday was a fun day. After class Cynthia, Tara, and I went to Cynthia's house to watch "Forgetting Sarah Marshall". It has been really hot out the last two days (mid 90's). After the movie we worked on homework together. Cynthia's mom was nice enough to make us dinner...I don't know what it was but it was good. After dinner we finished up homework and decided to head over to Esteban's around 10. We had a really good time. Christian was nice enough to drive us all home...probably took him about an hour...he's a good guy. I guess it doesn't seem like I've been that busy but I've been spending a lot of time with my friends and not really home at the computer to update.

Hopefully I'll have some new adventures to tell of in the next couple days. Before the end of the month we have a list of things to do including; go to the zoo, go to a soccer game, travel to the mountains, explore more of the city...and a bunch of other little things too. Well I had about four hours of sleep last night so its time to descansar Chile style with a siesta.

hasta manana

Vamos a Vina...2nd Weekend in Chile

We went on a fieldtrip for class on Friday to la Vega. It is a really cool market. Check out the pictures and video (if it works). We are pretty much celebrities here in Santiago! The Chilean men LOVE the gringas. In South American culture men whistle at girls and say things to them...its normal I guess. I was very cautious and I hung out at the back of our group and watched over the 17 girls...my teacher Claudia called me "guarda espalda" (body guard). La Vega is full of theft and deception. I watched people steal fruits and distract shop keepers...wild stuff.

We left promptly on Friday for the beach after the field trip and lunch by my house in Plaza Brasil. We met Christian and we crammed in his Mazda. The ride was fun and time flew (even though we got lost for a little). The beach was beautiful. I wish I had more pictures. We went out to a club on Friday night...walked right up to the front of the line, and got in for free. It was me, the four Loyola girls (Cynthia, Dana, Tara, Kristin) and our three Chilean friends Esteban, Christian, and Mark. We had a good time.

The cultural differences are really interesting at times. Chilean girls are very conservative...when they dance there is always a foot between the partners and very little (if any) contact. American girls dance much differently (now I know why they let them in for free!) It is really cool to note the differences between the cultures...I'll try and bring them up when I think of them.

We were out until about 5am Friday night so Saturday was a lazy beach day. We drove down to the beach...laid out on the sand...played some games and laughed a lot. I really like everyone I hang out with down here we are becoming good friends.

We got some McDonald's and ice cream for lunch and went back to Esteban's beach house. Because the election was Sunday...nothing was open Saturday night. Every literate Chilean citizen is legally obligated to vote...and it is actually illegal to go out the night before. We hung out in the condo, played some games, and watched some football.

I got up early on Sunday because I planned to go home so I could meet my extended Chilean family with Judith and Francisco. Cynthia decided to take a bus back to Santiago with me. Esteban and Christian dropped us off...but we had to wait an hour for the next bus. I had a nice ride with Cynthia she is real cool. I got back to my house in Santiago but I was too late Judith and Francisco left for their family reunion. Mama Judith assured me I will have many chances to meet the family.

Cynthia and I wanted Chinese food real bad Sunday night so she came over but because of the election and being Sunday night...the places closed at midnight and she came over a little too late. Luckily, she brought empanadas...mama judith made them for us and we did our homework and hung out for a while...pretty chilaxed.

She caught a cab home and I called it a night...fun weekend enjoy the pics!

cuidate

San Cristobal

Last post for a few days...

I am leaving for the beach tomorrow RIGHT after class with the four Loyola MD girls and my Argentinian friend Christian. We are going to meet Esteban and another friend there...que divertido!

Today we went to the International Chilean Police office to apply for our Chilean I.D's. We all waited in line to pay. Dana goes first and hands the guard 5,000 pesos ($10 USD). The guard gave her 200 pesos change (about 40 cents)...Tara went next and handed the guard 10,000 pesos ($20 USD) and she received the same change.....fishy. I was next and I asked the guard how much the application was...and he pointed to a sign that said 800 pesos ($1.60 USD). He tried to keep the change of my gringa friends. Not gonna fly. The girls went back to talk to the guy and he readily gave them their correct change once they asked...I wonder how much he makes off innocent tourists every day?

I told Judith about this when she got home today...she was furious! She is going to talk to el jefe (the big boss) tomorrow. I told my mom on them real good!

Afterwords we went out for a little lunch and took a gondola up to San Cristobol. It was beautiful. The smog makes the view of the Andes a little depressing but they had a beautiful church on top of the mountain and a HUGE statue of Mary. You could see all of Santiago...it's a really big city. 1/3 of the population of Chile lives there...crazy. Hopefully I can post some more pictures in the next couple days.

I went back and did some homework...I have a long day of classes tomorrow and a field trip before our journey to the beach! It's gonna be a cramped car with the four Loyolans, Christian, y yo. I'm gonna get to sleep and pack my things for tomorrow. Thank you to everyone who is following my adventures it gives my journal an added purpose!


P.D...the little mountains in the picture are NOT the Andes...I'll get you some good pictures of those beautiful mountains soon

P.D.D...in Spanish they say P.D instead of P.S

hasta domingo!

El tirando del pan

Today we started grammar class. Our teacher Marcelo speaks quickly and really gives us a run for our money. I like him a lot he seems very smart. We talked a lot about poverty in Chile and the United States...we got into some touchy subjects and political debates...but it was all in good fun to learn. Chile has a presidential election in a week and it is an exciting time. One candidate is socialist and the other is just kinda socialist....very different from the United States.

After class I went out with my friends for lunch, and we went to a local park. American girls get a lot of attention and we had another example of that today. We were sitting in the grass and a man selling water came up to us. He opened a bottle and tried to give it to my friend Kristin. Since we aren't too familiar with the culture she said "no gracias" because we didn't know if he wanted money for it or anything. The girls pretended not to be able to speak spanish but the man kept trying to give the bottle away. He was drunk and he spilled some on the girls in the process. Finally he came over to me and gave it to me. I took it but didn't drink any of it. I sat it down on the grass next to me. I didn't want to get in an argument of payment or cost or anything so I didn't drink any.

That obviously upset the man because about five minutes later he stormed over, grabbed the bottle, and poured it out right next to me on the ground. I had to move out of the way. Then he threw the bottle at the ground and went back to his friends. I didn't say anything and kept to myself...he's lucky I'm scared of Chilean jail!

About 10 minutes later we got up to leave the park. The park is really beautiful and I wanted to keep it that way so I picked up the bottle and the cap and walked toward a trash can. The man yelled to me, I turned around, and he threw a biscuit type pastry at me. I smiled to myself, walked away and threw away the bottle. Maybe what we did was very rude in their culture...we obviously still have a lot to learn.

I watched a movie in Spanish in my room and I'm getting ready for bed now because we are all going out tomorrow at 8am to get our Chilean identification.

Hasta luego

Lucho, donde esta la torta?!?

Tuesday was my longest day of classes yet...but it was a fun day. We started off with cuentos hispanoamericanos (short spanish stories) and read some traditional latin american stories and analyzed them. Then we had our culture class...it's really interesting and fun. We had to interview each other and find out about our interests and compare them to the Chilean way...we had a good time. I went home after class and took a little siesta. My friend Cynthia invited me over to her house to meet her family...they are really nice.

I went over there and we hung out for a while...studied a map of Santiago and talked about travel plans for the semester. Another girl Tara came over for a while, and Cynthia's mom brought us some snacks and drinks and we all talked about the past and future. Tara had to go home to eat dinner with her family (at 11pm...crazy schedule huh?) so we met our friend Dana at the metro and went to a local hangout on the main street. It was really relaxing and calm. Dana and Cynthia went to the bathroom, and while I was on purse guarding duty the table next to me (6 businessmen) called me over.

They asked me about my pretty gringa friends and offered me a seat. We joked around a little and when Cynthia and Dana returned from the bathroom they sat with us. The guys were really cool. They were abogados/lawyers. (But wouldn't you tell a couple cute American girls you were a lawyer too?) Nonetheless...they were good guys. They spoke English and told me of some good places to go in Santiago, and also other cities in Chile to visit. They gave me some great tips.

In Chile, you can be a doctor or lawyer at a young age because the training begins right after high school...you don't need a bachelor's degree to go to law school or med school. The guys were between 21-26...but they looked 28-35. One voluntarily showed me his I.D to prove he was only 22 and it was actually his birthday. We had a lot of fun with them. Our server, Lucho, was very funny too. The lawyers had gone through a couple pitchers of "crystal", the local beer...but they assured me that Lucho was the most tipsy of all. Lucho was very funny but he spoke in a lot of slang and I didn't catch much. The guys wanted us to come back to a house to hang out with them but it was already 2am and we had class the next day so we parted ways.

Dana and I walked Cynthia home and we caught a cab back to our places...I try to make sure none of the girls walk alone because Santiago can be a dangerous place if you are not heads up.

Pictures are coming soon I promise!

Hasta manana