Today I saw my favorite thing so far. Everywhere you look, they have English names for places such as "Homecenter", "Express", or "Easy". They're usually big shopping centers but there are quite a few smaller shops as well. Well I was driving along today with Rodrigo, and I don't know if it was a bar, restaurant, or what, but the name of it was Helen Keller. Priceless. I really want to get a picture of it. I don't think they even know who she was, I'll have to ask next time we drive by.
Also, my Conversation and Culture professor is awesome. He is super funny and really nice and welcoming to all of us. It's a class with only ISEP students so there aren't very many of us and if we have a problem, he said his room is safe and secure for us and that we can relax. But one of the coolest things he told us is that he has some friends who are really nice, and have agreed to put on a four week workshop for us about the graffiti in Valparaiso. It's everywhere, but it's not tagging like in the US. The first week we'll learn about it, the second we'll tour the city and check out cool places, the third we'll watch them graffiti, and the final week we'll get to do our own. I'm super stoked =)
Another exciting opportunity, Gabriella is studying English and so she talked with her teacher today and asked if I would be allowed to come to her class sometime and the teacher said I'm welcome at any time. My family was really cautious though and said I wouldn't have to if I didn't want to, but I'm super stoked for that as well! It'll be cool to be that visitor in class who actually is from a country where the language you're learning is spoken.
Final thought for now, I love it here. My family told me I'm welcome anytime I want in the future, preferably during their summer so I can experience warmer weather. They also said I'm allowed to bring my family or my girlfriend. All I need to do is call them or email them and they'll even come pick me up from the airport. Simply wonderful.
16 June, 2009
Lessons I've Learned
Since I have some time today, I've decided to share a few of the differences between here and the United States. My disclaimer: I'm very accepting of different cultures and how other countries are, so don't think that I'm complaining or calling them bad differences, I'm just informing you all in case you're interested.
Probably the biggest one for me, they don't heat their houses. They have small space heaters that I can use in my room or that we use in the living room at night, but otherwise it's just however warm it is outside. Luckily, we're on the ocean so winters don't get as cold here as they do in Spokane, but they are fairly wet. I was told it's similar to Bellingham, WA during late Spring. I've dealt with this pretty well since I prefer a cooler house to a warmer house, though my hands aren't liking it quite as much since I naturally have cold hands due to poor circulation. It makes typing a little difficult. It also was a little alarming to roll over in the morning and see my breath while lying in bed (I can still see it now).
Another big difference, the roles of women in the house. I was talking with Rodrigo (my host dad), and he told me that his job in the house is to sit, relax, and watch TV. It's up to his wife to do all the cleaning, cooking, washing dishes, etc. I tried offering to help and I've actually found it very hard not to carry my dishes over to the sink, make my own bed, etc. My host mom doesn't actually do all of the cleaning though because they have a housekeeper come and do all of the work during the day while the parents are at work. I was told that if I want anything, I just tell her what I want and she'll get it for me. It made for an interesting situation today when I said I wanted cereal and thought I was asking for some hot chocolate, but instead got Frosted Flakes in chocolate milk.
Women also don't take their husband's last name when they get married. They keep their own, and the kids get the father's last name and then the mother's, so they end up with four names. I don't quite know how it works though once a child gets married because if they kept all the names, kids would end up with many many names after a few generations. Rodrigo also asked about the US and names with women. I explained how now women are more independent and want to work in the workplace rather than be stay at home moms, which he understood. But then he asked why they still take their husband's name if they want to be so independent. I had no answer for him.
Paying for stuff is different as well. Many stores can't accept any bills higher than what equals $20 in the US, some even $10. They just don't carry as much change as US stores do.
Oh television, how interesting. So far, I don't think I've seen any TV shows other than sports that were from Chile. All they watch is US shows and movies. I've watched part of Toy Story 2, Van Helsing, and numerous shows that were just dubbed with Spanish. Many stations are dubbed with Spanish, while some are still in English but have Spanish subtitles (I find this the easiest way to learn since I can read along, though watching kid's shows and movies completely in Spanish is easy as well). They like all of the Marval comic book movies, Harry Potter, Pirates of the Caribbean, Disney movies. You name it, they've seen it.
Music is much of the same way as well. Rodrigo is a fan of Ah-Ha and Queen, Rodrigo Jr. likes Linkin Park, and Gabriella likes Backstreet Boys and the Jonas Brothers (not a fan of that last one, but she did say she can't stand Hannah Montana. Instant friendship made).
Speaking of music, this is my favorite music video right now: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zpUWUq5O4eU I actually am a huge fan of their new album. It's old Black Eyed Peas meets Daft Punk. A nice combo that I didn't think I'd be a fan of. My other favorite video right now is this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GA8z7f7a2Pk I so wish I could've been there to join in. Definitely laugh every time I see this.
I suddenly just got very cold. I shall be going now, I'll be eating pretty soon, then it's off to my first day of class. If you want to hear a good joke (or read I suppose), then google one because I don't feel like telling you one.
Ciao.
Probably the biggest one for me, they don't heat their houses. They have small space heaters that I can use in my room or that we use in the living room at night, but otherwise it's just however warm it is outside. Luckily, we're on the ocean so winters don't get as cold here as they do in Spokane, but they are fairly wet. I was told it's similar to Bellingham, WA during late Spring. I've dealt with this pretty well since I prefer a cooler house to a warmer house, though my hands aren't liking it quite as much since I naturally have cold hands due to poor circulation. It makes typing a little difficult. It also was a little alarming to roll over in the morning and see my breath while lying in bed (I can still see it now).
Another big difference, the roles of women in the house. I was talking with Rodrigo (my host dad), and he told me that his job in the house is to sit, relax, and watch TV. It's up to his wife to do all the cleaning, cooking, washing dishes, etc. I tried offering to help and I've actually found it very hard not to carry my dishes over to the sink, make my own bed, etc. My host mom doesn't actually do all of the cleaning though because they have a housekeeper come and do all of the work during the day while the parents are at work. I was told that if I want anything, I just tell her what I want and she'll get it for me. It made for an interesting situation today when I said I wanted cereal and thought I was asking for some hot chocolate, but instead got Frosted Flakes in chocolate milk.
Women also don't take their husband's last name when they get married. They keep their own, and the kids get the father's last name and then the mother's, so they end up with four names. I don't quite know how it works though once a child gets married because if they kept all the names, kids would end up with many many names after a few generations. Rodrigo also asked about the US and names with women. I explained how now women are more independent and want to work in the workplace rather than be stay at home moms, which he understood. But then he asked why they still take their husband's name if they want to be so independent. I had no answer for him.
Paying for stuff is different as well. Many stores can't accept any bills higher than what equals $20 in the US, some even $10. They just don't carry as much change as US stores do.
Oh television, how interesting. So far, I don't think I've seen any TV shows other than sports that were from Chile. All they watch is US shows and movies. I've watched part of Toy Story 2, Van Helsing, and numerous shows that were just dubbed with Spanish. Many stations are dubbed with Spanish, while some are still in English but have Spanish subtitles (I find this the easiest way to learn since I can read along, though watching kid's shows and movies completely in Spanish is easy as well). They like all of the Marval comic book movies, Harry Potter, Pirates of the Caribbean, Disney movies. You name it, they've seen it.
Music is much of the same way as well. Rodrigo is a fan of Ah-Ha and Queen, Rodrigo Jr. likes Linkin Park, and Gabriella likes Backstreet Boys and the Jonas Brothers (not a fan of that last one, but she did say she can't stand Hannah Montana. Instant friendship made).
Speaking of music, this is my favorite music video right now: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zpUWUq5O4eU I actually am a huge fan of their new album. It's old Black Eyed Peas meets Daft Punk. A nice combo that I didn't think I'd be a fan of. My other favorite video right now is this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GA8z7f7a2Pk I so wish I could've been there to join in. Definitely laugh every time I see this.
I suddenly just got very cold. I shall be going now, I'll be eating pretty soon, then it's off to my first day of class. If you want to hear a good joke (or read I suppose), then google one because I don't feel like telling you one.
Ciao.
15 June, 2009
Orientation Day
Biggest thing I've learned so far, Americans need to learn from Chileans on how to drive efficiently. I swear, they do not wait for anyone to even think about hesitating to make a turn or not. If you aren't moving, they go around you. It doesn't matter if there's a car in the next lane or not, they find a way in and just go around. Traffic lanes are optional I feel. Seat belts are too. The first time I got in the car and started to put my seat belt on, they leaned way over as if I needed the whole back seat to buckle up, but then I realized none of them followed suit, and they only did that because they aren't used to people buckling up so they don't know the appropriate amount of space necessary when doing the lean. But honestly, if you thought California or New York City drivers were aggressive, you haven't lived. I think the worst thing is that I absolutely love it! I mean it's not about watching out for pedestrians or other cars (now I understand why I haven't seen too many bikers), it's about how fast can you get from point A to point B. Tri Cities, you better watch your back when I get back...
On that note, I found out how to ride the micro (bus) today. I walk about five blocks or so to the main road to hop on a bus (if you don't hop on quickly, they'll drive right off). Buses don't have set stops either, if you wave one down they'll stop, and when you need to get off you just stand up and either pull the cords they have along the ceiling or push a button on the railings. There's also many many different types of buses, so they only way for me to know which one is mine is by reading the names of the places they go. I know H.NAVAL is for coming back (hospital naval), but I don't remember which I need to take to get to the university. Luckily, my host dad went with me today and will do the same tomorrow, or until I'm ready for him to let me do it on my own.
It is a twenty minute or so drive to Valparaiso, but I don't think I'll ever get tired of it because of the view. Today, the sun decided to show itself, and I got to see the beautiful ocean view as the sun was rising the entire way to the university. Even more beautiful was when I later walked to the supermarcado con mi padre (supermarket with my dad). The entire time, I had a fairly clear view of the sunset on the ocean. Spectacular. The sun sets very fast though, we walked into the mall while the sun was still barely visible, and by the time we had walked through it, it was completely dark out.
I'm tall. That's what I figured out very quickly. It actually was the first thing my sister said to me when I met her (she comes up to about chest height). Her dad later told me how Chileans are just short people in general. I think my dad is about the same height as Alyssa, and that's considered pretty tall here.
I got to meet my dad's sister, her husband, and their daughter today. It was a pretty good experience, and the husband had a nice conversation conmigo y mi madre (with me and my dad). I actually was able to understand about 95% of what they were talking about, and they were really nice and funny. They then stopped by again just an hour or so ago, and it was nice to see them again. My family told me that next weekend, they'll be taking me with them to Papudo (google it) for their grandmother's birthday, and that's where the sister's family lives. My dad said it's the most beautiful place he's ever seen. We'll be playing beach volleyball and beach soccer (I'll finally get to show off my amazing lack of skills for their country's favorite sport). It shall be wonderful =)
Oh yeah, we started talking about houses and prices and such, and I told my dad about some of the richer parts of America, and so he brought up on google a few different cities along the beach (Papudo being one of them), and then we continued to look at different houses for sale at these places, ooing and ahhing at every single one of them. The prices ranged from about $800,000 to $1,550,000. I think Scott would be proud...
One main difference here: eating schedules. They wake up and have desayuno (breakfast). Then, at around 1 or 2 they have almuerzo (lunch), but it's not like ours. This is their biggest meal of the day, and they told me it's because they work late into the night (till around 6:30 or 7) and they need lots of energy for the rest of the afternoon. Then, at around 5 or 6 they have an once (it's like Europe having a time for tea). Finally, at around 9 or 10 they have cena (dinner), but it's only a light meal to tide them over for the night. My family, however, skips the cena and just has an once at around 8 or 8:30 because that's when everyone gets home from work and school.
Oh yeah, Gabriella (mi hermana/sister) goes to school from 8-1, or somewhere around there. She's in high school, and in her final year. Rodrigo (mi hermano/brother [and also the same name as my father]), goes to school from 2-7. So he sleeps in and doesn't even leave for his elementary school until his sister is already home. It's very interesting, and I found it really funny when they thought 7:35 was early for classes to start when their high school only starts 25 minutes later.
Another random thought, on the way home from the university today, my dad started talking to me about politics and such, and brought up the dictatorship of Pinochet. (If you really want to learn more about Chile, I highly recommend reading up on the history involving him) Luckily, I did a project on his leadership and the US-backed coup that overtook him, so I knew exactly what he was talking about. But he told me that with him, no one was allowed in the streets past 7 PM, and no one was allowed back onto the streets until 8 AM. Todo el tiempo (all the time), there were military people with guns on the streets enforcing the strict rules and regulations. He said it was a very tense time, but now things are a lot more tranquil and they can relax. Just a little history in case you were interested.
The main reason we were talking about this is because I registered for my classes today. I had a placement test today during the orientation, and I got a 50/62 or somewhere around there, so I tested into the advanced level. I was able to take two of the following: Contemporary Chilean Literature, Grammar, Social and Political Themes of Chile, or Conversation and Culture of Chile. I was planning on taking the Lit and the Conversation class, but the Lit class went from 8:30-10:00, and the Conversation wasn't until 2:00, so I opted for the more convienent and more interesting sounding Social and Political Themes class, which goes from 11:45-1:15. Much easier to manage since I won't have to pay twice as much bus fair every day going back and forth between a huge break. It's funny to think that I have to travel all the way to Chile to finally have a schedule with classes that start later than 8:00 AM. Oh, and my first class doesn't start till Wednesday so I don't have to be there till 2 tomorrow. It'll give me plenty of time to relax and catch up on things before I need to go.
Well I think I've written more than enough for now. Tomorrow I wake up whenever and have their housekeeper make me lunch. Then I ride the bus with my dad to class. After, I have a conversation with a Chilean student that will be half English and have Spanish (they want to learn English). Then, I come back and help Gabriella study for her English test. I was looking through her book and boy am I glad I don't have to learn English. There are so many crazy rules to follow that only have like one particular case. But she's doing it, I guess she wants to be an intrepreter in the future. There's only one university for that here, but that's another story for another day. I need sleep now. Thanks for reading if you kept up till now.
Until next time, ciao!
On that note, I found out how to ride the micro (bus) today. I walk about five blocks or so to the main road to hop on a bus (if you don't hop on quickly, they'll drive right off). Buses don't have set stops either, if you wave one down they'll stop, and when you need to get off you just stand up and either pull the cords they have along the ceiling or push a button on the railings. There's also many many different types of buses, so they only way for me to know which one is mine is by reading the names of the places they go. I know H.NAVAL is for coming back (hospital naval), but I don't remember which I need to take to get to the university. Luckily, my host dad went with me today and will do the same tomorrow, or until I'm ready for him to let me do it on my own.
It is a twenty minute or so drive to Valparaiso, but I don't think I'll ever get tired of it because of the view. Today, the sun decided to show itself, and I got to see the beautiful ocean view as the sun was rising the entire way to the university. Even more beautiful was when I later walked to the supermarcado con mi padre (supermarket with my dad). The entire time, I had a fairly clear view of the sunset on the ocean. Spectacular. The sun sets very fast though, we walked into the mall while the sun was still barely visible, and by the time we had walked through it, it was completely dark out.
I'm tall. That's what I figured out very quickly. It actually was the first thing my sister said to me when I met her (she comes up to about chest height). Her dad later told me how Chileans are just short people in general. I think my dad is about the same height as Alyssa, and that's considered pretty tall here.
I got to meet my dad's sister, her husband, and their daughter today. It was a pretty good experience, and the husband had a nice conversation conmigo y mi madre (with me and my dad). I actually was able to understand about 95% of what they were talking about, and they were really nice and funny. They then stopped by again just an hour or so ago, and it was nice to see them again. My family told me that next weekend, they'll be taking me with them to Papudo (google it) for their grandmother's birthday, and that's where the sister's family lives. My dad said it's the most beautiful place he's ever seen. We'll be playing beach volleyball and beach soccer (I'll finally get to show off my amazing lack of skills for their country's favorite sport). It shall be wonderful =)
Oh yeah, we started talking about houses and prices and such, and I told my dad about some of the richer parts of America, and so he brought up on google a few different cities along the beach (Papudo being one of them), and then we continued to look at different houses for sale at these places, ooing and ahhing at every single one of them. The prices ranged from about $800,000 to $1,550,000. I think Scott would be proud...
One main difference here: eating schedules. They wake up and have desayuno (breakfast). Then, at around 1 or 2 they have almuerzo (lunch), but it's not like ours. This is their biggest meal of the day, and they told me it's because they work late into the night (till around 6:30 or 7) and they need lots of energy for the rest of the afternoon. Then, at around 5 or 6 they have an once (it's like Europe having a time for tea). Finally, at around 9 or 10 they have cena (dinner), but it's only a light meal to tide them over for the night. My family, however, skips the cena and just has an once at around 8 or 8:30 because that's when everyone gets home from work and school.
Oh yeah, Gabriella (mi hermana/sister) goes to school from 8-1, or somewhere around there. She's in high school, and in her final year. Rodrigo (mi hermano/brother [and also the same name as my father]), goes to school from 2-7. So he sleeps in and doesn't even leave for his elementary school until his sister is already home. It's very interesting, and I found it really funny when they thought 7:35 was early for classes to start when their high school only starts 25 minutes later.
Another random thought, on the way home from the university today, my dad started talking to me about politics and such, and brought up the dictatorship of Pinochet. (If you really want to learn more about Chile, I highly recommend reading up on the history involving him) Luckily, I did a project on his leadership and the US-backed coup that overtook him, so I knew exactly what he was talking about. But he told me that with him, no one was allowed in the streets past 7 PM, and no one was allowed back onto the streets until 8 AM. Todo el tiempo (all the time), there were military people with guns on the streets enforcing the strict rules and regulations. He said it was a very tense time, but now things are a lot more tranquil and they can relax. Just a little history in case you were interested.
The main reason we were talking about this is because I registered for my classes today. I had a placement test today during the orientation, and I got a 50/62 or somewhere around there, so I tested into the advanced level. I was able to take two of the following: Contemporary Chilean Literature, Grammar, Social and Political Themes of Chile, or Conversation and Culture of Chile. I was planning on taking the Lit and the Conversation class, but the Lit class went from 8:30-10:00, and the Conversation wasn't until 2:00, so I opted for the more convienent and more interesting sounding Social and Political Themes class, which goes from 11:45-1:15. Much easier to manage since I won't have to pay twice as much bus fair every day going back and forth between a huge break. It's funny to think that I have to travel all the way to Chile to finally have a schedule with classes that start later than 8:00 AM. Oh, and my first class doesn't start till Wednesday so I don't have to be there till 2 tomorrow. It'll give me plenty of time to relax and catch up on things before I need to go.
Well I think I've written more than enough for now. Tomorrow I wake up whenever and have their housekeeper make me lunch. Then I ride the bus with my dad to class. After, I have a conversation with a Chilean student that will be half English and have Spanish (they want to learn English). Then, I come back and help Gabriella study for her English test. I was looking through her book and boy am I glad I don't have to learn English. There are so many crazy rules to follow that only have like one particular case. But she's doing it, I guess she wants to be an intrepreter in the future. There's only one university for that here, but that's another story for another day. I need sleep now. Thanks for reading if you kept up till now.
Until next time, ciao!
14 June, 2009
My Arrival
Well after 25 hours of traveling, I finally arrived. I started by leaving my house in the Tri-Cities at 7:30 PM yesterday. Got to the Spokane airport by 9:45 and then waited around till departure at 11:15. Things were looking good till my next flight in Salt Lake City didn't even start boarding until it's scheduled departure time at 2:50 PM. This is where I don't know what happened exactly, but we sit around at the gate and on the runway till we finally take off at 4:10. My next flight leaves Atlanta at 10:05, and since I was supposed to arrive at around 8 I figured I'd have time to relax. Well, we touched down at about 9:10 due to the delay in Salt Lake, and then we sat and waited for a plane to leave a gate when there was another open right next to it until 9:35. I quickly jumped up and pushed my way past people who didn't have to catch another flight and managed to hop onto the tram since I needed to go from Terminal A to Terminal E, almost a mile away. Well I arrived at the gate at about 9:55 and was relieved to hear that they were seating rows 35-40 only. I was in 23. Perfect. I met up with the other two Whitworth students and then we all boarded and took our seats by 10:05. Unfortunately. our luggage doesn't move quite as fast as we did, so we ended up sitting in the gate until 11:20 PM. Hustle = worthless. This puts our arrival time to Santiago at 8:30 AM instead of 7:30. Not too bad, except we have someone picking us up and no way of contacting them to let them know we'll be late. After a restless and sore night of attempted sleeping on the plane, we arrive to Santiago, and have to wait forever to pay for our traveler's visa. (I don't understand why, but only people from Canada, US, UK, Albania, and Mexico have to pay this few...everyone else it's free) Then we go gather our luggage which was at the far back conveyor, not the first one with hundreds of people surrounding it. Then we go through customs (they let me keep my Cougar Cheese, thankfully) and have to fight our way through the mob of taxi cab drivers trying to get us to go with them to find our driver (who surprisingly was still there!). Well one would think the waiting would be over, except it was an hour and a half or so drive to Vina del Mar from Santiago. Then once there, I had to wait as each of the three other kids in our van got dropped off first. Finally, the driver crazily makes his way to my house and out comes my father and mother. Local time of arrival: 11:15 AM (8:15 AM back home). Yeah, it wasn't fun...
My family, however, is wonderful! Much to my surprise, instead of finding a 24 year old son waiting, when I walked in the door a girl came up and gave me un abrazo (hug), and a young boy came up and shook my hand. All of my host family information was wrong, except for the mother's name (I don't know how they could mess up that badly...oh well). I'm living with a 17 year old hija (daughter), and an 11 year old hijo (son). I think they'll be a lot of fun to get to know better.
As soon as I arrived, they asked if I wasnted to go to the supermarcado (grocery store)/mall with them. I said sure why not? They have super sweet escalator ramps here so you can push your cart just about everywhere! We got some shopping done, and then came home and ate some pizza. I knew that Chileans use a knife and fork to eat their meals, but I was a little surprised when they began cutting their pizza as well. It was nice though, I support good manners. Now, I'm just sitting in my room relaxing and possibly going to take a quick nap, although I don't want to sleep for too long.
First impressions of Chile? Amazing. As I was flying in, we went below these clouds and I felt as if I were in the Kingdome (google it for all you non-Mariners fans). But instead of seeing Griffey or Johnson, I saw the most beautiful mountains imaginable, with the occasional sun shining through to illuminate the peaks. Also, while in the car to Vina del Mar, I passed Dinolandia, complete with life size models!! Finally, the city I'm in sits on a hill and over looks the ocean, and although I couldn't see much today due to rainy weather, I know there's an amazing view to be discovered in a day or two...
I don't have a volt/outlet convertor yet so I need to conserve my battery. I'll update soon. Enjoy the warm weather because you can.
My family, however, is wonderful! Much to my surprise, instead of finding a 24 year old son waiting, when I walked in the door a girl came up and gave me un abrazo (hug), and a young boy came up and shook my hand. All of my host family information was wrong, except for the mother's name (I don't know how they could mess up that badly...oh well). I'm living with a 17 year old hija (daughter), and an 11 year old hijo (son). I think they'll be a lot of fun to get to know better.
As soon as I arrived, they asked if I wasnted to go to the supermarcado (grocery store)/mall with them. I said sure why not? They have super sweet escalator ramps here so you can push your cart just about everywhere! We got some shopping done, and then came home and ate some pizza. I knew that Chileans use a knife and fork to eat their meals, but I was a little surprised when they began cutting their pizza as well. It was nice though, I support good manners. Now, I'm just sitting in my room relaxing and possibly going to take a quick nap, although I don't want to sleep for too long.
First impressions of Chile? Amazing. As I was flying in, we went below these clouds and I felt as if I were in the Kingdome (google it for all you non-Mariners fans). But instead of seeing Griffey or Johnson, I saw the most beautiful mountains imaginable, with the occasional sun shining through to illuminate the peaks. Also, while in the car to Vina del Mar, I passed Dinolandia, complete with life size models!! Finally, the city I'm in sits on a hill and over looks the ocean, and although I couldn't see much today due to rainy weather, I know there's an amazing view to be discovered in a day or two...
I don't have a volt/outlet convertor yet so I need to conserve my battery. I'll update soon. Enjoy the warm weather because you can.
12 June, 2009
Day -1
I leave in less than 24 hours. It kinda makes me nervous thinking that I'll be leaving the US for six weeks, but then I take a step back and look at the US and chuckle. I am nervous about the whole speaking Spanish again for the first time in over a month. Boy I wish Spanish class never ended...ha!
Today is my last day of working at the pool until August, and the pool doesn't even open until tomorrow. I worked quite a few hours already which is nice, but it's a little upsetting to go because I was just promoted to being a head guard by my bosses. I wonder if they'll give me keys before I go...I like keys. They give you so much power. Unless you don't have them, then you're powerless. I still have a key to my old job from over a year ago. I probably should give those back sometime...I also have keys for a house I was housesitting at, but they moved.
Well I'm sure you're all extremely anxious to hear how my new goals turned out. If not, I could care less. They are:
1. Clean up my room by unpacking and organizing stuff I don't need until next fall, andgetting rid of anything I don't want any more (Ehh...who needs clean anyways?)
2.Ride my bike 22 miles round trip (Ok this was great. I decided to do a gentle 38 mile bike ride up Clodfelter road and all the way out through the fields and back through Badger Canyon to my house, but someone failed to mention that 5 miles of the ride was gravel road...stupid stupid construction. Well road bikes do not bode well with gravel, and after finally getting past the construction and down to Badger, I was too tired to finish and had to have my sister come pick me up before I got too exhausted, ha. Lame. Still managed to ride 28 miles though, success!)
3. Learn to play a new song on the piano (I'll leave this one to someone who can)
4.Cook a meal including the dessert (Well I made some great tasting ribs for the first time, but I couldn't find any good berries to make a pie so I skipped the dessert part)
5.Draw Alyssa a picture =) (I managed to finish this one, luckily I didn't specify it being a good picture...)
Well I'm off to work now. One more day of saving co-workers while trying to ignore my hunger since I never allow myself time to eat before I leave. I hope you have a great weekend, and next time you hear from me I'll be in Chile!!!
Today is my last day of working at the pool until August, and the pool doesn't even open until tomorrow. I worked quite a few hours already which is nice, but it's a little upsetting to go because I was just promoted to being a head guard by my bosses. I wonder if they'll give me keys before I go...I like keys. They give you so much power. Unless you don't have them, then you're powerless. I still have a key to my old job from over a year ago. I probably should give those back sometime...I also have keys for a house I was housesitting at, but they moved.
Well I'm sure you're all extremely anxious to hear how my new goals turned out. If not, I could care less. They are:
1. Clean up my room by unpacking and organizing stuff I don't need until next fall, and
2.
3. Learn to play a new song on the piano (I'll leave this one to someone who can)
4.
5.
Well I'm off to work now. One more day of saving co-workers while trying to ignore my hunger since I never allow myself time to eat before I leave. I hope you have a great weekend, and next time you hear from me I'll be in Chile!!!
09 June, 2009
Day -5
Well I finally found out my host family information today. I'm living with Lissette Hurtado Mondaca and her esposo (husband) Enzo Valle. They live right next to her madre (mother) Alicia Hurtado, and they also have their 24 year old hijo (son) Daniel living with them. They have two perros (dogs) that live on the patio, they are Catholics who attend Sunday mass, and they have Wi-Fi in their house, which means I will be able to update this on a regular basis.
I also found out that they live in Viña del Mar rather than Valparaíso, so I'll be taking the bus everyday to school. It shall definitely be an exciting adventure everyday since the drivers are crazy and traffic laws aren't enforced. Sounds like high school all over again...
Only five days left before I flee this desolate wasteland that is the Tri Cities...oh how I miss when friends were actually home for the summer. I am definitely stoked out of my mind for this wonderful experience, and I still have a crapload to do before I leave.
Oh yeah, my sister graduated on Saturday. After receiving her diploma on stage, she purposefully tripped and fell as the entire Toyota Center gasped "Oh...." Priceless. I think the best part was how shocked my mom was. Hasn't she learned yet after her other three kids? I will hand it to Amy though, she definitely topped anything we ever did. Way to be Amy, way to be.
I leave you today with one of my favorite jokes:
Why is a stove? Because the more you shine it, it gets.
I also found out that they live in Viña del Mar rather than Valparaíso, so I'll be taking the bus everyday to school. It shall definitely be an exciting adventure everyday since the drivers are crazy and traffic laws aren't enforced. Sounds like high school all over again...
Only five days left before I flee this desolate wasteland that is the Tri Cities...oh how I miss when friends were actually home for the summer. I am definitely stoked out of my mind for this wonderful experience, and I still have a crapload to do before I leave.
Oh yeah, my sister graduated on Saturday. After receiving her diploma on stage, she purposefully tripped and fell as the entire Toyota Center gasped "Oh...." Priceless. I think the best part was how shocked my mom was. Hasn't she learned yet after her other three kids? I will hand it to Amy though, she definitely topped anything we ever did. Way to be Amy, way to be.
I leave you today with one of my favorite jokes:
Why is a stove? Because the more you shine it, it gets.
02 June, 2009
Day -11
I realized my last list of things to get done weren't all that great at keeping me busy, so I had Alyssa come up with a new list of five goals for me to accomplish.
They are as follows:
1. Clean up my room by unpacking and organizing stuff I don't need until next fall, and getting rid of anything I don't want any more (I've unpacked what needed to be unpacked and I got rid of a lot of crap I don't need any more, but it's still not looking very clean...)
2. Ride my bike 22 miles round trip (I only made it 19, but I should do this in the next couple days)
3. Learn to play a new song on the piano
4. Cook a meal including the dessert (I'm thinking about cooking ribs and making a pie from scratch, it shall be wonderful)
5. Draw Alyssa a picture =)
I still have a ways to go on these, but at least I've got something to accomplish.
As far as my other goals go, here's how they turned out:
1) Clean my room (Not quite clean, but it's getting there)
2) Clean/vacuum my car
3)Secure my job for when I get back (I did find out I get to work a preseason pool rental on the 8th, and I've been helping train new lifeguards the past couple days and we had our first preseason meeting tonight, things are going great)
4)Email Sue Jackson
5)Fix my laptop screen (I was planning on just buying a new screen, but my parents found a really nice laptop on sale and convinced me that it would be better to just get a new one rather than try fixing a three year old one, sweet)
6)Ride my bike
7)Get a haircut (Just got it done today, it's the shortest I've had it in sooo long)
8)Read up on Chile
9)Talk to past students about studying in Chile (Thank goodness for this one)
10)Be productive (More or less..)
I also went camping for the first time since the summer after my freshman year of high school this past weekend. My dad and I went to Clear Lake near White Pass. It was very pretty, and nice to have time to relax and not feel bad about not doing anything all day. I'll probably post pictures on facebook soon.
I suppose I should start watching Spanish TV or reading the Chilean newspaper online since I'm leaving in less than two weeks...it's funny how fast you can forget something after having just taken an entire semester's worth of it. The closer I get to leaving, the more excited and nervous I get at the same time. And I know I shouldn't already be looking forward to coming home, but it means being with Alyssa again =) Boy do I miss that girl...
Well I feel like I sincerely wasted my time updating this. I don't know why I do since I'm not even gone yet, and more importantly, since I haven't even shared the link with anyone. Oh well, I guess I just wanted to see how I actually did with my last set of goals. 8.5/10 (.5 for getting my room unpacked, just not cleaned) not too shabby.
Enjoy the wind.
They are as follows:
1. Clean up my room by unpacking and organizing stuff I don't need until next fall, and getting rid of anything I don't want any more (I've unpacked what needed to be unpacked and I got rid of a lot of crap I don't need any more, but it's still not looking very clean...)
2. Ride my bike 22 miles round trip (I only made it 19, but I should do this in the next couple days)
3. Learn to play a new song on the piano
4. Cook a meal including the dessert (I'm thinking about cooking ribs and making a pie from scratch, it shall be wonderful)
5. Draw Alyssa a picture =)
I still have a ways to go on these, but at least I've got something to accomplish.
As far as my other goals go, here's how they turned out:
1) Clean my room (Not quite clean, but it's getting there)
2) Clean/vacuum my car
3)
4)
5)
6)
7)
8)
9)
10)
I also went camping for the first time since the summer after my freshman year of high school this past weekend. My dad and I went to Clear Lake near White Pass. It was very pretty, and nice to have time to relax and not feel bad about not doing anything all day. I'll probably post pictures on facebook soon.
I suppose I should start watching Spanish TV or reading the Chilean newspaper online since I'm leaving in less than two weeks...it's funny how fast you can forget something after having just taken an entire semester's worth of it. The closer I get to leaving, the more excited and nervous I get at the same time. And I know I shouldn't already be looking forward to coming home, but it means being with Alyssa again =) Boy do I miss that girl...
Well I feel like I sincerely wasted my time updating this. I don't know why I do since I'm not even gone yet, and more importantly, since I haven't even shared the link with anyone. Oh well, I guess I just wanted to see how I actually did with my last set of goals. 8.5/10 (.5 for getting my room unpacked, just not cleaned) not too shabby.
Enjoy the wind.
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