End of Week 2 (I'll try to think of a more descriptive, enticing title)

Wow this week just flew by! I think I finally have figured out the trick to hot showers (knock on wood) and that's a major answer to prayer. I'm reminded that when things don't go my way, I just need to "keep swimming." ;) We're going to the Pre-Columbian Museum today which is near the Plaza de Armas and some other landmarks mentioned in my first post. We're also going to try to take a tour of La Casa Colorado or the "red" house.

I think things are finally starting to sink in as I've had more time to reflect and soak it all up, especially while watching the amazing sunsets we've had this past week. It's kind of awe inspiring when I think of how far we've come as a group and how far God's taken me personally since just a few years ago. I'll try to sum up some of my journey to this point: My senior year was full of questions and uncertainties for me especially regarding college. I had only applied to three schools, but didn't feel too sure of any of them. Step by step God took me on a path to Northwest Christian University. I had only applied to out of state schools, but as time drew nearer, I got cold feet about the idea of being so far away (5 hours driving more or less) from home with people I had never met. Considering I'm now approximately 6,449 miles away from home, the 5 hours seems minuscule and pretty insignificant. I also didn't know what major to pursue, but decided I would go for a degree in Elementary Education. Little did I know, that NCU has a very good education program and the Oregon teaching license is one of the best in the country. I heard about the study abroad program to Santiago my freshmen year and it drew my interest, particularly because of my desire to learn Spanish. The program is aimed at sophomores so it seemed like pretty good timing to start planning. They have been trying to get enough interest in the trip for quite awhile now, but it has never worked out. They have needed at least 4 students for the trip not to lose any money (we have a group of 6 students.) It almost didn't seem likely that we would ever go, so that might be a reason why I was so willing ;) Over the summer Patrick kept asking me if the trip was still on, and each time I really had no idea. Being the first group to actually go, we had to overcome a lot of obstacles and doubts. Perhaps one of the most trying came just a week or two before the end of fall semester '09. After a semester of talking about and preparing for said trip, he told us some higher ups, we now debating who should pay for the plane tickets. I kind of looked around wondering if he was serious. I had the impression that they had already bought the tickets because it was almost time for winter break. In the end, after much discussion, the school decided to pay. I guess that's part of why I'm convinced that God has got a plan for this trip. I'm not sure what it is yet, but it's exciting waiting to see what else He's going to do.

Some things I left out from last time that you might find interesting:
Ages of siblings- Constanza 22 (had her birthday on Tuesday), Jose 23, Pili 25, Maria Belen 30 (Married and lives in LA with her husband), and the cousin Cristian 30. I guess I'm the baby, unless you count Lulu the dog. Mi papa paints as a hobby and he's really good even though he just started recently. A couple of his sisters paint too, maybe it's in his blood. (You can see some of his paintings here: http://www.aicoa.org/author.php?id=7842)

I think it was during the first week while we were eating dinner mi mama asked me to roll my Rs because she noticed I did it better than most gringos. Caught slightly off guard, I did and everyone cheered. Score! My family is always laughing and telling jokes over dinner mostly at the expense of my mom or my sister Constanza. I try to fit in sometimes when I can and contribute a joke in Spanish. For example, when I told them I was from Seattle they said "Oh! Starbucks!" My sister Constanza works in a Starbucks down here and for some reason she asked me if there was a giant mermaid on the top of the headquarters building in Seattle. I told them I didn't think so, at least not like they made it sound. Then they asked me if I knew Howard Stern, so I said "Oh yeah! We're friends." She and my brother laughed. In the states we'd call it "pulling their leg," but here they say that they're "pulling their hair." When I told them the American equivalent they laughed and acted it out.

Only in Chile:
They add -ito/-ita to just about everything
They also add a lot of salt to everything

Some words (there are a lot more that I might add later, but these are the words I've actually used so far:)
Bakan!: Means something is really good
Cachai?: Means "Do you understand?"

I'm excited to try their foods:
Mexico has tamales and Chile has humitas (basically the same thing, but don't tell them that)
Mote con Huesillos
Empanadas (I've had one at a little store, but I hope my mom will make some for dinner eventually)
(Side note: They seem to love their Sushi down here...)

I think someone needs to fill Chile in on the fact that mullets are gross, and that smoking is bad for one's health (as is the salt that they always add.)

Veronica and I went to an English speaking church on Sunday. It wasn't really our cup of tea. We did find an international Jed though! (For those of you that don't know Jed is a guy from NCU.) There were a lot of people that spoke with accents; it sounded to me like they were from the UK.

Well that's all for now. Next week is sure to be fun: we're going to the beach for 4 days! Also, I think my sister Constanza is leaving for Peru and some other places soon.

PS: On the subway today, a man couldn't make up his mind whether to get off or stay on and ended up getting his neck stuck in the doors. Some people nearby quickly pried the doors open though. I would have gotten a picture if I wasn't so caught off guard and concerned for this guy. I think Veronica and I were the only ones that actually saw it happen.