The Little Things

Paying for college sucks. Sorry to be so frank but really, if you are paying for college, are a parent helping your kid out, or know anything about how much it costs to got to college these days you know it is ridiculous. Since I've been in school tuition's gone up around $2,000. I definitely work as much as I can to help pay for college and haven't stopped applying for scholarships that go towards tuition. It's super frustrating though to write essay upon essay upon essay and get recommendation letters time and time again just to find out you didn't get a scholarship. I would definitely say that applying for scholarships is a pretty humbling experience--you get to find out time and time again that there are many more kids out there who are just as awesome as you are. In high school, it was so frustrating for me to apply for scholarships because so many scholarships committees "weed" your application out if you don't have a high ACT score. I am a terrible test taker and have super bad test anxiety and my ACT score was right in the mediocre range--it didn't compliment anything I did in high school really. My college actually told me not to apply for a certain scholarship because they won't even consider my application without a certain ACT score. So going into college a lot of your opportunities are based upon two numbers--your class rank and ACT/SAT score--awesome right?

When I got to St. Ed's my scholarship opportunities were based on my performance inside and outside of the classroom. I applied for scholarships to study abroad from different programs and the agency I went with but didn't receive any. I'm taking a whole semester and not working so of course when I return to the US I will be under more financial pressure to make what I need to live on for the next semester. More than anything while I am here I am trying to spend conservatively. Last night I found out that I have been awarded a scholarship from my honors program back home--it was a breath of fresh air. Admissions to the honors program at SEU has been one of the best things to happen to me in college. The classes I have taken through the program are some of the best courses I've been through in college and I really can't say enough good things about the professors in the program. The best thing about this scholarship was that I didn't even have to apply for anything. I just emailed the dean of the college and asked her if there was a scholarship I would be able to apply for in the program (months ago) and yesterday she told me I'd be receiving funds for my experience abroad. I know there are pros and cons for going to big and little colleges but this is definitely one of the reasons I appreciate my small university--your professors know you and care about what you are doing. St. Ed's new slogan is "Take on your world" it definitely fits the university and what I have been inspired to do during my college experience.

Just for the record, last night I ate zucchini as my main dish and liked it--yes I like zucchini, but if you know me you know this is a big accomplishment! I also eat a salad with almost every meal--my plate actually has color for probably the first time in ten years. You know how most of the time you don't like many foods when you are little and as you grow up you learn to like different foods? Yeah, well my eating cycle is pretty much in reverse. I'm getting better though--Chile helps with that.

Sunday I register for classes back home--I have a decent amount of hours so hopefully that will go well but registration is always stressful so I'm not counting any chickens. Sunday, is also April 1st which means that I only have three months left here--time flies. I'm definitely trying to make the most of what little time I have left in this beautiful country.

Me da lo mismos...

So today in my oral pronunciation Spanish class we are going over like general phrases to help us talk with Chileans and once again we are talking about how Chilean Spanish is so different from the rest of the Spanish world. For instance, in Chile, pluma is the word you use for pencil, pen, and marker, whereas in most Spanish speaking countries there is a distinction and lapiz is pencil and pluma is pen...ask for a lapiz in Chile and then they will just look at you funny.

While we are talking about these things the subject of how to say the phrase "I don't care" comes up and of course I'm like oh yeah, "me no importa" my professor is like no no "me da lo mismos" and then goes on to tell me that when I've been trying to tell my parents that I don't have a preference for the past month, I've actually been saying "I don't give a damn." Good thing my parents are awesome and don't care either way...but I'm glad I've got the phrase right now!

Our class size was small today because many of our kids were gone on a field trip for another class. So, instead of having regular lecture in one of our classes, our professor sent us to the cafeteria to talk with Chileans and come back and shared what we learned. My partner and I talked for about twenty minutes to two senior girls, Camilla and Macerena (yes like the dance...totally asked her that question and I did the dance) they were both studying law--leyes and were fixing to take their final exams for their specialty--dereche. They were super sweet and after we finished I had that moment where I was like whoa, I just had a whole conversation in Spanish with people other than my parents and those that I know here in Chile.

I've also figured out that the winter here is going to be gloomy for most of it....from what I have understood from talking with one of our directors, the sun doesn't shine much when it's cold here. She's totally right too, for the past couple of days it's been decently chilly and the sun doesn't really shine at all. If I had to guess, I would say that it's what Seattle would look like in the winter, but dear God I hope it doesn't get that cold...good thing I brought layers!

Also I asked for my mailing address today! It's pretty expensive to mail stuff here and takes about two weeks to get here but if you do want to send anything to me here is my address:

Leigh Anne Winger ISA Office
12 de Febrero #86
Valparaiso
Chile

Take note, that February 12th is the name of the street--it's the day Santiago (the capital) was founded.

Today I also gave my first oral presentation over the 13th region of Chile, all in Spanish! Whooo hooo...poco a poco. This weekend we met a girl from the states who had been here for four months and was leaving in July but she said after being here for four months she could speak and understand the language, THERE'S HOPE!

Tomorrow is the last school day for the week and most of the kids I came with are headed to Santiago this weekend for Lolopalooza--a music fest that would be similar to ACL. I'm staying here and have plans to explore the city with some of the kids that aren't going either, it should be fun to hike high into the cerros and find some of the secrets that the city holds.

Chileanismo....PO

So today's post is a little backwards, mainly because I have a lot of random Chileanness on my mind:

-Chilean hazing--today I saw shoeless students who had ripped clothes everywhere on the streets and apparently first year students get their shoes and backpacks stolen, clothes ripped, and are forced to beg for money on the streets to retrieve their personals from the upperclassmen...the money that is made by begging is used for a huge party on the beach--our parents said that it was tradition and totally not a big deal...I'd break someone's nose if they tried to steal my kicks...(for those of you who don't know, I have a huge shoe fetish)

-Since I go to a Catholic school here, like I do in the states, I might be getting a couple extra days off for Easter

-If you wear bright colors here, people assume that you are crazy or homosexual.....haha I wonder what Chileans think of me with my neon attire everyday

-There are so many words that Chileans use that aren't Spanish (Chileanismos) that I have decided that Google should have  a translate button for Chilean...

-Most of the kids here my age know tons of 80s and 90s music--tons of it--because when Pinochet was ruling such music wasn't allowed to be played and after he was no longer in power they haven't stopped playing it--literally jump on a bus and you hear it everyday thanks to my aunt back in Austin and my parents I'm pretty cultured in my music and enjoy it being the constant jam

-Nutella is like 6-7 dollars here...GET OUT OF TOWN...for that small jar...

-Smoking is literally allowed everywhere..our school is like indoor outdoor...hard to explain but like it has a plaza in the middle but you are inside the building and it isn't smoke free...I think the only place you can't smoke is on the metro..and maybe the micro...we had a big conversation about the cost of cigarettes in our class today

-Went to watch the "Hunger Games" yesterday...it was all in English, it just had Spanish subtitles and it didn't cost an arm and a leg for popcorn and a coke..I didn't get either, mainly because I hate popcorn, but it's nice to know that Chilean movie theaters aren't outrageously expensive...$5 bucks for a night show...any day.

-Okay, so it does get nippy here...granted I wore shorts all day while most of the Chileans were in coats and gloves, it was like chilly...not cold yet...I fear that it is coming now though...we'll see how bad.

-"La Nana" is this Chilean film we watched in class the other day...definitely a good movie--dry humor

-I'm running out of facts so how about some pictures from my Mama's birthday!

It's that kind of love

You know those moments in life when you have no idea what you are doing but nothing has ever felt more "right" before? I am definitely in one of those moments. Yeah, of course, I am going through all the phases that my advisors told me I would when I studied abroad, I am right in the middle of those "decide what to do with your life" years, and I am falling more in love each day with the creator of the universe. Leaving for Chile, I had known that these five months of my life were for me--this was time that God had set aside just for me and Him. My iPhone costs a fortune to use here, and as much as my new friends that I have met here would like for me to get a local phone, I don't want it--not that it isn't a hassle sometimes because I don't have one, but just that I don't really "need" it and it would take away from what God is doing with me here.

When I left Austin, I was leaning towards the idea that a romantic relationship was something I wasn't in a hurry for, and more or less, not something I had wanted at all. Honestly, I thought God was asking me to take some time to pray deeply about joining religious life--yes, joining a convent and being a nun. I had been graced by the friendship of many sisters back in Austin and had that "at home" feeling in their Holy Cross community. So that was something I definitely wanted to spend time praying about. Joining a community isn't something I just came up with one day but something I have been sitting on for many years now. However, yesterday I am sitting in mass and God puts the desire on my heart to consider a relationship. I'm young and so I've only dated a couple of guys. I've known lots of very nice guys, but I've never met that A+ guy--I don't even think I've considered the idea that he could be out there. Now, don't run with that sentence the wrong way and think that I don't think I am good enough for some guy or anything, but just that for a while now, probably a big portion of my life, I have really never wanted a relationship or have considered what my life would be like if I was in one. For the most part, my life has always been just God, my family, and my friends. I know that I have all the time in the world, right? So, now, my focus of prayer has once again shifted from what I think God wants for me to do, to what makes me happy in life--essentially the same thing, if I am doing what God wants me to do, I will also be doing what makes me happy. Do I want someone to come home to everyday--do I want to fall in love and share that with someone else? Does it make me happy to commit my life to service and be put in situations that will always be out of my control? I am in absolutely no hurry to figure any of these things out, but it's definitely a new outlook for me to consider that my life is actually about me...what a concept. I know that the Lord will grant me the desires of my heart, whatever they may be.

I know that I love being in a place like I am now--where nothing seems "normal" and every day is a new adventure. I am on that big "great adventure of self discovery" to be as cliche as possible, but it is so much more. I definitely think in my life that I have been taken out to the desert many times...but I really think that what God is doing with me is what He did with Hosea when he took her out in the desert to speak tenderly to her heart. Amidst the sirens of the street and endless howl of the dogs in the night--I come to find different expressions of love from His heart to mine. For a lot of my life I have always let myself be in the position where I am the go to person for people in my life--no matter the situation. Whether I was doing it out of grace, or to make myself feel like I was doing good (because of course I am human) I was always trying to make myself available to others as "that person." Stubborn as I am, I had a hard time finding time for me and working on myself and what was best for me--what made me happy and who I wanted in my life. Granted, I wanted to study abroad anyways, God brought me across an ocean and away from most of the things that would prevent me from taking time for myself, to learn, love, heal, let go, and open my heart to what life has in store. He started with school. School is probably my number one stress in my life--I literally stress about school to the thin lines of perfection. I know all college kids have some sort of stress about school, but school has definitely always had a huge control over my life....so God got rid of it. Yes, I still go to school here, I am still learning, everything will count for college hours back home, and yes, I still do homework--but I live in a country where my grade is completely based off of attendance--and since I have a huge moral dilemma against missing class, I have almost guaranteed myself an A. Then He went to love. I have some trouble letting people just love me if that makes sense, and usually find that my favorite kind of love to have experienced comes from my two sets of grandparents, and older people from back home alike. So, God sets me up with two awesome Chilean parents who are so similar to my grandparents it's insane. It's like all day everyday I get that dose of love that is just awesome...you know the feeling, it's that ice cream for breakfast, hugs every moment, you can't do anything wrong kind of love.

Yep, this kind of love:

Oh hey, EARTHQUAKE.

Haha so don't worry, it wasn't as bad as the title alerts it to be. Apparently in the early morning around five there was about a seven second earthquake--some of my friends felt it and my parents did--I completely slept through it. Apparently it was a 5.3 but it didn't do much as far as I can tell...everything was fine when I woke up this morning. Today we went to a bunch of beaches in the north. It was a colder day here--mid sixties, so it wasn't exactly beach weather but we still had a great time. We left around ten and got home in time for dinner, spaghetti, my favorite! This afternoon we also went to the dunes and I "sandboarded" down huge dunes that take so much leg muscle to climb up...they need to invent sandlifts or something for real! It's nothing like snowboarding but still so much fun! I also took lots of pictures today but I am waiting for my battery to charge so I can upload them.

Tonight at dinner our parents were talking to us about the reign of Pinochet and Papa told us that when he was younger he was forced to work collecting train tickets and when he walked to work in the morning he would see people who had been shot in the street the night before. They lived in Santiago and the military would bomb the city and it was very dangerous. I hope I am telling you all of this correctly...I was pretty sure I was understanding right.

Today is also Mama's birthday and the big fiesta is tomorrow! Sometime soon I am also planning on getting a video up so you all can see the house and meet my parents..I don't think they will be camera shy. :-)

Tear Gas, yes it makes you cry

Remember a few posts ago when I wrote about the educational protests in Chile? This week there were multiple protests in different plazas all over Valpo and to disperse the crowds, the cops use tear gas. Yesterday afternoon, my first class got canceled and I was walking down one of the streets with a bunch of kids in my class and all of a sudden I start crying, my nose is on fire, and I absolutely can't breathe---we had walked right into tear gas. Granted, the protest had ended an hour or so earlier but tear gas lingers in the street for hours and sometimes days after it has been used. We were walking on one of the main streets and weren't "looking" for the protests at all, yesterday, they were just unavoidable. After a second in the gas we immediately turned around and walked as fast as we could the other way. I honestly don't know how the students stand that stuff when they are on the front-lines of the protests--it's awful! I'm sure while I'm here I will run into it again but I'm still going to do my best to stay as far away from the protest streets as possible!

This past week I also figured out my Google phone on my computer and was able to call all of my grandparents, it was so great to hear their voices--I'm used to talking to them around once a week or more. Also, my bracket for March Madness is doing alright...Marquette losing last night messed up my final four though--sad I was.

I also have started drinking the milk here. I learned that it's powdered milk that has just already been mixed with water so it's okay not to refrigerate it. I liked powdered milk when I was little, nothing's changed, I just drink milk that's bought off of a store isle instead of out of an ice box,

This weekend we will be going with ISA to the beaches in the north for the day Saturday and then Sunday our Chilean siblings are coming into town and we are celebrating Mama's birthday! Yesterday Julia and I stopped in a shop up the hill from us to buy a bottle of wine for our parents and we started talking to this Chilean lady who started telling us about crazy stories from an earthquake and some other things that we couldn't really make out. She kept asking Julia if she was scared and stuff and then when we were leaving she told us not to tell our parents what she had said...so of course we went right home and told Papa everything! Turns out she was telling us that our house was haunted and that spirits lived in the neighborhood. It all made sense at that point and we figured out we'd been talking to the crazy lady of the neighborhood--oh the life. Papa assured us that there weren't any spirits in the house, not that we needed assuring, and then we all proceeded to laugh at the absurdity of the lady's story.

This morning is super chill here at the casa, I think later today we are going to go to the beach--I love having free Fridays and absurdly long weekends, it will definitely be an adjustment going back to school at SEU.

RealTime

I decided to make a video for all of you just to kind of give you a tour of the blog if you are having trouble working it and such...I also talk a little bit about how I got here..for some of you this might be a bit repetitive. All you have to do is hit the play button! I hope you enjoy it. :-) Also, sorry for the sound quality, my microphone wasn't loud so you will have to turn your volume up!

The Language of Laughter

Thursday night I got on a bus to go to Pucon, a small city in southern Chile. We left Vina around 8:30 and were on the bus all night long...twelve hours. The bus was nice, for a bus at least, the seats were pretty big and leaned back pretty far and had nice leg rests--but long bus rides are still the worst. I hate riding in buses or cars for long hours so I was pretty claustrophobic and ready to get to Pucon to say the least. Luckily, my friend had some Dramamine that helped me sleep part of the way there. Once we arrived in Pucon we dropped all of our stuff in our cabins and got on a tour bus with guides who took us all around the city. We went to beautiful waterfalls, saw the Mapuche village, and finished the tour by swimming in the hot springs that were sooooo relaxing.

That night we decided to make dinner at our cabin (ISA is very good about getting us places to stay that we can cook at). We had gone to the store and bought the stuff to make fried chicken, mashed potatoes, and mac and cheese. After we got back from the hot springs I started cooking....so I'm battering the chicken and the flour isn't sticking very well and I was like okay well it's just because it's Chile and it's different...I mean for real, lots of the food is just different here. My friend Jack was watching me and told me not to worry about it because his Chilean family cooked with light battering. So I was like huh okay well then I start to fry it and after a while the flour has started cooking really weird in the chicken and my friend Amber gets out of the shower and I'm telling her how weird this flour is cooking on the chicken then Jack is like "Oh my god, did you guys get flour?" I grab the bag and in the store I'd picked up "azucar flor" not "harina" haha what can I say, "flor" was in big black letters on the bag and it looked like fine flour....we rolled on the floor laughing and ate caramelized chicken for dinner. I mean it wasn't fried chicken but it wasn't bad, and the funny story that came from it all was worth it completely...oh that powdered sugar.

The next morning Jack and I woke up to hike in the National Park. It was the cheapest thing we could do and was well worth it....so pretty. There were tons of waterfalls and of course I swam in one of the catch ponds....SO COLD. I can't even explain the beauty of this wonderful place...

Crossing it off the bucket list!

We hiked this mountain all the way up to the top where there were four lakes..it was the most peaceful place ever. It was different from hiking La Campana which was basically dry mountain..this place was full of water and everything was green. I was definitely sore but such a good sore.

That night we came home and had an asado complete with chorizos and jugo. Our whole group was housed in cabins that each had a grill and all circled a pool and lounging area. We were the only people in the place so that was also nice. We went out for drinks at one of the local bars that night and had a wonderful time. Even though we were in a touristy town, there were hardly any people there but the locals...we pretty much had the town to ourselves.

The next morning we woke up and kind of just hung around town. We went down to the lakes, lounged around the pool, and had lunch at Chef Pato. That night we got on the bus around eight...as much as I love Valpo, I wasn't at all ready to leave Pucon. I wish I could've just brought Mama and Papa down and stayed another few weeks there. It was so quiet and peaceful compared to the barking dogs and endless sirens of the city. I think I probably liked it so much because it was so similar to the feeling I get when I'm in my small hometown. Gruver isn't my favorite place to be in the whole world, but I do love my people there and the quiet stillness where you can look up at night and see a million stars is a breath of fresh air--Pucon was a lot like that--a breath of fresh air.

We got on the bus and I had a harder time coming back than I did traveling there. I decided to let my mind wonder down the whole "I live in Chile" road and it was great. I first thought back to the last time I was on a bus for twelve hours and came to the conclusion that it was probably in high school for sports..which as much as I hate buses, nothing is better than being on a bus with your team. From there I thought to myself..."Ha, never would I have thought three years ago that I would've gone to school in Austin and then live abroad in Chile." I have always had huge dreams but making them a reality has been the best experience of my life. I definitely am so thankful for my parents and family who have all been so supportive--I couldn't be more blessed. It's just the cherry on top that I have the best Chilean family ever here. God definitely is the master planner. I mean it took some planning with my parents, but ultimately God was kind of like, you decide where you want to go and...GO. Every person and place in Chile is a new adventure for me. I learn more about the world and myself every day here.

Chao.

So then we decided to climb a mountain..

Saturday was the day of the barbeque. We met up with our Chilean friends from school and all pitched in about six dollars and bought tons of buns, chorizo, and beer. After that we took it out to the botanical gardens which were about ten miles outside of Vina. We hung out and grilled all day--there were tons of kids so it was super fun and a great way to spend our Saturday. That night I came back and had dinner with my parents then woke up for church the next morning. After church I came home and we learned how to make empanadas! Check it out:

Bet your mouth is watering now huh? They were so delicious! We hung out at the house for the rest of the day talking at the dinner table and such. I didn't think I was going to do anything but homework Monday and maybe go to the beach but my friend had said we should do something and I had been really wanting to go to La Campana and climb the mountain, so we did.

I woke up early Monday morning, packed my bag, and we set off on the metro for Limache. Limache is the last stop of the metro and it's about twenty minutes from Valpo. When we got to Limache we knew we needed to take a bus to get to the park but we didn't know which one, so with my stellar Spanish speaking skills I asked one of the metro workers which bus would take us there. The city was a lot smaller than Valpo so there wasn't bus after bus lined up to take us to our destination--we had to wait a good fifteen minutes for the bus which was really nice because I made friends with one of the dogs on the street who would shake for me and smile realllly big---it was precious. After we got on the bus of course we didn't know which stop to get off on so we just waited and waited until we were thinking we should've got off a while ago so I turned around and again with my stellar speaking skills asked the sweet kid behind us where we should get off--turns out he was getting off at La Campana too. Once we got off we set off for the park that was one kilometer away from where the bus dropped us off at....it was a hike to get to the park, but that was only the beginning. Once we paid our four dollars to get into the park we set off for the summit. Because we had arrived so late in the day (about eleven) we wouldn't be able to hike the highest mountain so we did one of the ones that our time allowed for...it was enough, don't worry.

At first it was a nice flatter trail with picnic tables everywhere, then we realized that was just the campground area....haha little did we know. We came to the main train and it was all uphill from there. It was for sure a steep climb..for all of you Austinites out there---the Hill of Life ain't got nothin' on this. Here are some pictures from our climb...the photos don't really do justice to the view from the top at all...

WE MADE IT!

This is like at the picnic tables...haha

Check it out...

So yeah, that was a great day! I love being outdoors and I love trekking...it's probably one of my favorite things to do on earth. I got the best sleep last night too because I was so tired...it was a different sore from surfing too...which compared to climbing this mountain was not hard at all.

Today I had classes which were pretty good--in one of them we played "Quien soy?" it was super fun--I was Oprah Winfrey. We also had a meeting about the trip we are taking later in the week. We leave Thursday night and are coming back Monday morning--hopefully I get some great pictures--I plan to trek in the other national park while we are there. The city is in southern Chile is supposed to be very pretty.....Pucon here we come!

Tonight at dinner I was also really hyper and was making random animal noises and then my Papa would tell me what animal I was..."Hay un loro en la cocina." Learning my animals....hey whatever works right!? 



CHAOOOOOOO

To my sweet Phyllis

They say if you were born in a small town you weren't raised by your parents, you were raised by the whole village...this statement resonates with my life completely. Until I was 14 I only knew Phyllis as the lady who drove the limo around town and the grandmother to Shane, Sheldon, and Crystal who I worked the snow cone stand and babysat for. For the last couple of years of Jr. High I drove tractor and did in and out jobs that my parents insisted built character...like building the backyard fence and scraping and painting the trim of our house. The summer after my brothers were both gone to college, I drove tractor pretty much everyday considering in Gruver it never rains and my dad had decided to farm more sections than we had ever farmed before (well for as long as I had been around...I think..) there was always a field that needed plowed. When farming started to get real fancy my dad got a GPS for our tractor and I could've killed the thing...it wasn't one of those super fancy ones that drove the tractor but more of a green light guide that turned red every moment I was driving serving as a constant reminder that I couldn't drive in a straight line. The summer before my first year of high school was the last year I drove tractor because my dad quit farming and started teaching at OPSU...don't worry he still likes to remissness about the farming days but we all decided we don't really ever truly miss them.

After dad quit farming my main concern was what I was going to do for my summer job. My parents expect me to pay for as much of my college education as I can--while in high school, that mean working all summer. All of the people I usually babysat for were teachers and didn't need a full-time sitter in the summer, I had no desire to look at numbers all day and work at the bank with my mom, I could've probably gotten a job for any one of the farmers around but that was my last resort choice. When I was little, I had always wanted to work as a waitress at some point in my life (I have a halloween picture somewhere, it's just not with me here in Chile). My cousins and I continuously "served" my grandparents our concoctions of rice crispy-treats covered in cherries from the backyard tree with powdered sugar that they happily swore was the best thing they'd ever eaten and we'd get so excited until my dad would come in and tell us sarcastically "Oh yeah, that's GREAT!" while my granddad just smiled in the background taking another bite. I called up one of the two local restaurants in town, the El Vaquero, and asked Phyllis if she might need a hand for the summer. She told me to come up within the next couple of days and we'd talk about where she might could use me.

I went in a day or two afterwards and the first thing I see is Phyllis arms deep in flour or something with her white apron on standing over a mixing bowl. Peggy was there and we all talked about what my schedule was and how much I could work in the summertime considering I was going to play summer basketball and such. I worked my first weekend the following week and I remember it being great...except for the fact that I couldn't tell which dressing was ranch and which was blue cheese to save my life. I started working in March and by the end of the summer, the El Vaquero was another home.

Phyllis knew the definition of hard-work and helped my parents plenty in building my character. I worked pretty much everyday and night shift, unless I was playing basketball which at times I was for two weeks in a row, every summer while I was in high school. I'd come in in the mornings and Phyllis would've already been there for four hours making hot sauce and specials for the day. Peggy would have most of the restaurant set up and we'd sit at the community table drinking coffee before Donnie drove up at 10:50, or Ted and Louise would look through the window at 10:45. We'd all sit and talk about what was going on in town or what special Phyllis was cooking up for the rest of the week.

When business would pick up, Anne Whitacker, Phyllis' dear sweet friend, would come in and take money so that Peggy and I would have more time to tend to our customers. Some days were so busy we couldn't even stop to think but other days we would sit at the community table talking to all of my grandparents, including my biological ones, who came into the cafe every day for lunch.

Phyllis was such a genuine and caring person--everyone who came into the restaurant knew it. She loved to come in at night for five minutes and say hello, take care of someone's tab, and walk out before they would even realize she did it. Sweet as she was, she was also a little prankster and love to pull jokes on me and the other girls at work. One day I remember walking into the kitchen to this black furry thing resembling a small skunk scurrying across the floor only to find Phyllis behind the opposite counter pulling the other end of the string tied to the stuffed rodent. She'd decorate the restaurant for every holiday and take all the little kids around that came in to push all of the buttons on the singing Santas..Donnie would've complained about the noise, but the kids were always too cute. Phyllis was also one of the most generous people I'd ever met. Every Christmas she'd come around with a Santa hat and give me a Christmas bonus--I remember my first year of college I came home in December and worked for like a week and after the restaurant had closed for the holiday, there Phyllis was knocking on my door, Santa hat on, Christmas envelope in hand.

When I found out Phyllis had cancer, it made me sick. Over the past couple of years her physical health had been getting worse and worse, but you wouldn't know it by the way she worked, Peggy and I would have to absolutely kick her out of the kitchen some days. I was able to visit the next couple of times I was in town, and a few months later Phyllis seemed to be doing better and the cancer was gone. Though not more than a few months later Mom called me a couple weeks after Christmas to tell me Phyllis wasn't doing very well and they had put her in home hospice. When I heard Phyllis passed away I cried and laughed all at the same time wondering if the good Lord would be able to get her to quit working to the bone in Heaven...she's got working shoulders and a liberated spirit, all of Heaven is probably feasting on chips and salsa listening to Sheldon play the guitar.

Like every person at the community table, Phyllis and Harv were another set of grandparents who looked out for me and taught me more about life than I ever could've imagined. Never could I have ever imagined what a role Phyllis would play in my life when she hired me that day in March. She taught me the ins and outs of the service industry and is probably the sole reason I was able to get a job at a restaurant in Austin. Among a long list of other things Phyllis taught me about love and how to love people every moment of every day....and for those of you who are asking...no she never taught me her secret to making black sauce or any of the other wonderful foods that were always coming out of her kitchen :-). I'm a world away from the little cafe that taught me so much growing up--thinking of the long hours we spent at the community table each day just brings a smile to my face.

I know when I go home that the El Vaquero won't be the same, Phyllis' heart and soul was left all over that old hotel. I'll look down to the end of the community table and will miss that sweet smile that always brought joy to my heart. Like anyone, I am sad that Phyllis is gone and will truly miss her, but I am so happy that she now has a body of "one of those young people" that she was always talking about--she always told me that I never wanted to get old. I don't write this to be sappy or mushy, but only to honor one of my all time favorite people in the world, a boss, a grandmother, a hero...so to my sweet sweet Phyllis--thank you for everything you taught me, every smile, every laugh, and most importantly all the love you blessed my heart with each day.

I love you so much. 

Surf's Up

Today I happened upon a beach where local Chileans were out catching the waves. I have absolutely been dying to surf since I have been here so I took it as the perfect opportunity to rent a board, wetsuit, and take a group lesson. I can snowboard....I'm not awesome or anything, but I can do it, so I figured I would give surfing a try. Honestly, I should've probably waited until the absolute end of the summer months to try because I loved it and am addicted and want to buy a board (don't worry I'm not). Okay so I put my wet suit on and I've worn one before but yeah those suckers are soooo comfortable let me tell you...then I met my instructor who was of course, super cute. When all of the group was ready we went on a light jog and did some stretching to get our muscles warmed up..stop laughing, the water here is so cold, you can't just go head first into this. Then we spent five minutes on the beach learning how to get up on a wave and we were off! I felt like I was in the middle of the movie "Blue Crush" with Bananarama singing "Cruel Summer" in the background....CROSSED THAT OFF MY BUCKET LIST!

This is how I think I was surfing:

This is what I actually looked like most of the time:

Haha, but really I did get up, and was able to ride my fair share of baby waves. The first time I stood up, it was like this:

I was disappointed we didn't have a camera but we really just happened upon the beach, I didn't like set out that morning to surf. That's the great thing about this place--even if you have no idea where you are going or what you want to do, it will be an awesome adventure.

For instance, every time my friends and I ride the buses here we seem to get lost in the Chilean hill country. There are so many buses and they go so many places--it isn't simple, believe me. Today we ended up half way to Santiago (joking mom) and then finally got off and onto the bus that would take us to Vina. It's great though, it's the best way to see the cities and learn which buses NOT to take. :-) I love getting lost, absolutely love it. I have always found some adrenaline high in getting lost and not knowing exactly where I am going or how I will get to where I want to go. I realize, at times, this isn't a good thing--don't fret I'm a safe lost person. I've been drilled enough by Teague to know not to talk to creepy looking strangers (only say hi to them :-) ) , not to wander into dangerous parts of places, and to make sure I am always with someone, especially when I am hiking, which, when I am in Valpo is ALL THE TIME. Getting lost was great today, we found the best beach on the whole coastline (I am convinced) for real though, I was in the water and the view was the biggest mountain range on the continent...what more could I have asked for--God is such an awesome artist.

The other night, I also had a Chilean hot dog (completo) I had it complete with avocado and tomato, yep it was disgusting, should've done it the American way and said solo completo, oh well you live and learn right? Also, the mustard was blech...sometimes I really love Chilean food, and then there are times that I just crave Sonic, but really the food here is good. I also had tons of more random facts that I have been thinking of for you...maybe I can remember them sorry if I repeat from previous blogs.

-there is like a 16% tax on books here so they photocopy all of their books for school--I am going to pick-up my photocopied books Monday...my professor was like it's illegal here but it doesn't matter there is a store on every corner
-Chileans eat mayonnaise on like everything
-being charged to drink water at a restaurant is so life changing
-they actually have a coin worth one peso..that's a fifth of a penny
-their cops ride around the city on green dirt bikes, it's literally the greatest thing ever
-ice is so rare of a find here
-I found out that one of our cat's name is Pololo (boyfriend) haha
-they have a huge celebration for International Women's Day...it's awesome!
-not every Chilean runs on Chilean time....not my Latin American Literature teacher at least ;-)

Okay well that's all for now, tomorrow we are going to a big BBQ and Sunday we are making Empanadas with Mama!

Chao now brown cow.

Kony 2012

 

So it was about last year in October when I actually heard about this cause.  I had gone with my friend to support her and raise awarness, then it seemed after about two months tons of kids at my university were involved with Invisible Children. I never got heavily into screenings or conferences, other than raising awareness against violence against women in Africa for a class. Everywhere I look in social media, Kony is there---and that is the mission, to keep him there. I know that all of my recent musings have been of my Chilean adventures and because of that my viewer population has seemed to skyrocket. I thank you all for reading faithfully, it's definitely fun to have an audience. However, today I am taking this opportunity to direct your focus to something much greater than my adventures in Chile. Do whatever you can to help--donate, share this video, join the cause, share this post...anything and everything helps. Growing up, I have always heard the sayings about my generation and what we are going to do.....this is what we are doing, stopping a war. If you didn't watch the video, or didn't watch all of it I encourage you to do so. 

KONY2012

So we made pizza and laughed all day...

Sunday afternoon our Chilean sister came over for lunch and she stayed all day. We had the best day--we sat at the table and talked all day until we all made pizza together that night.

My Chilean sister and my roommate

Toppings! No green!

Our Mama

Yay for Pizza!

Into the oven

We had such a wonderful day Sunday and the church I went to that morning was beautiful. Monday we kind of just lazed around the house for most of the day. I went to ISA for a while to work on my thesis and have most of the proposal done. This morning we had to wake up super early (for us) to get to class by 8:15. It was like waking up when I was little and having to leave the house twenty minutes early to walk to school....oh that character building finally came in handy, thanks parentals! I don't get the joy of watching my brothers fight all the way there and all the way home but the streets of Valpo have enough going on that I am usually highly entertained on the long walk.

My first course today was Latin American literature and it was great. It honestly is like a course that is designed around my thesis, my professor is even currently working on her dissertation on Pablo Neruda's poetry about Easter Island. We are also taking a class field trip to Isla Negra, his other house, could it get any better? After that class I went and took a nap at ISA, it was great--it was being like a freshman in college all over again, I obviously time traveled a lot today ;-). My last two classes were all in Spanish..the first was great and the second was okay. I had a headache when I finished but hopefully I will pick up more and more each day.

When I got home Mama had fresh juice made...she always has the best juice! I then took a shower and we had dinner. Tonight we had avocados stuffed with tuna, salad, and soup---it was SO DELICIOUS...then of course ice cream. Tomorrow and Thursday I have two more Spanish classes then it is time for the weekend! I hope to go to La Campana this weekend, it is a Chilean National Park only about an hour away from here.

Chao po

My Chilean family

 

El Fin De Semana

I apologize for falling off the blogging boat for a couple days--it's obviously going to happen. Friday was a great day. We got our Chilean IDs, at least the paper copies and then went to Pablo Neruda's house La Sebastiana--he has the coolest houses!

I plan to go to his third house in Isla Negra very soon--probably before the end of the month. I also got my schedule done--I don't remember if I wrote about that in the last blog...either way four day weekends=travel time. Friday night we went out with our Chilean friends from the school, it was a lot of fun--they had rented out the VIP section of a club for our group.

Saturday morning we woke up and went to the beach in Vina. They so aren't kidding about that ozone thing...I wore SPF 50, was only out in the sun for about two hours total and burned..not nearly as bad as my friends because I really don't burn much but the sun is for sure much more dangerous here. We hung out at the beach went and had lunch then took the bus back to Valpo. There is so much to discover in this city--everyday is a new adventure.

I also have been working on my Honors Thesis for St. Edward's--my proposal is due Thursday. Originally I had planned to work with just Pablo Neruda and his influence on the Chilean culture; however, I think that I have developed an idea to run with--Working thesis title- "The Power of Words, the Color of Hope" integrating Neruda's influence along with the great poet trio and connecting everything to how words and color are an integral part of the culture here. It's interesting to look around and see it everywhere. Graffiti here is often not just a scribble with spray paint (sometimes it is) but is largely murals and profound statements of inspiration. Our director for ISA told us that they paint the streets bright colors, especially in the poor communities, to offer hope to the people--it's fascinating. Living back home in the states, seeing a bright colored house amongst all of the red and browns that line the streets sticks out like a sore thumb--that's what I thought before I came to Chile. I remember thinking how ugly the bright orange house looked...my ignorance is once again educated, thank GOD. If you have any thoughts or ideas about my thesis, I'd love to hear them.

Last night at Taco's a karaoke bar my friend and I went to, we heard this song ...it's my new favorite, the lady who sang it also had some serious pipes.

Today our Chilean sister is coming to town for lunch, I am excited to meet her--other than that the plans for today are slim to none, as far as I know at least.

More randomness about Chile:

-coffee is instant--all of it
-I haven't had hardly any processed food at all since I've been here, considering almost everything in the US is processed--it's crazy!
-I took my first collectivo last night--multi-person taxi 
-the Pacific is FREEZING, and SOOO SALTY
-Mexican beers are more expensive than European beers


Chao

  

Day 9

Today we walked to school by ourselves for the first time---growing up we are. We went around Vina and Valpo to all the different buildings for our school, don't worry I only have to go to one since I am taking beginners Spanish and a literature class. Then we had another orientation meeting and went to register for classes. We registered in one big room---old school style, no computers just a hand written schedule and a yes or a no. My schedule was simple because like I said, the courses I am taking don't really fill up and are intro Spanish courses. I honestly have the best schedule in the world. I am used to going to school all day every day and then going to work and yada yada yada, here I don't have any classes on Mondays or Fridays--why can't this happen in the US? Hopefully four day weekends will give me plenty of time to travel, learn Spanish, and of course spend time on the beach and in the hills.

Funny thing I forgot to mention the other day--the seals that lay around on the front of the boats at port totally pose for the camera....no joke, it's hilarious.

Tonight Papa took us around our neighborhood---he is the greatest. We walked all around the hills and he showed us different restaurants and beautiful views of the sea...then we came back and had ice cream and he drilled us on our Spanish words. Learning Spanish at our dinner table is always great.

Tomorrow is Neruda's house--then Saturday.......time for the beach. Here are the photos I took of my neighborhood...ENJOY!