Sunday, August 5, 2007

Sunday, August 05, 2007

We slept in till 2 pm (again) and woke up to eat almuerzo. Then we went back down to the beach to see the sights. Today in Chile is Dia de los Niños (Kid’s Day), the equivalent of Mother and Father’s Day, expect for kids. They get presents and cake and get to do fun things like fly kites at the beach or go to the zoo. Cartagena was packed with families and little kids running everywhere. The man painting in the sand was back and tried to speak to us in English. We got Rellenos, churros filled with manjar. Manjar is a thick, carmel/butterscotchy type flavored deliciousness that Chilean’s put on anything they can. The rellenos will kill ya’, but they are delicious.

We headed back to Sylvania’s house and watched the end of the Colo Colo vs. Coquimbo futbol game. I realized I was witnessing a very Chilean, yet strangely USA day when the mom’s told us that Sundays are only futbol. Most of the men are on futbol teams that have games in the morning. Then they come home and watch the professional games all day. Chile has 20 teams spread out through its 14 regions, including 3 teams in Santiago. It reminds me of the White Sox vs. Cubs rivalry on how each person routes for one of Santiago’s teams. Colo Colo is the best, then Católica University, then University of Chile (they have no association with the schools. Strange right?). The women told us that every Chilean man loves futbol more than anything else and Calli’s dad, Nelson, said that futbol is was part of who he is as a man as he lovingly held his hands over his heart. It totally reminded me of watching my dad watch football (Americano) on Sunday’s.

We drove back to Santiago around 6:30 and I slept the whole way. Olga was happy to see me home and I filled her in on everything I did this weekend. We ate once, including arroz con leche (rice with milk) for dessert. I asked her how she makes arroz con leche and she went on to tell me how to make all her favorite desserts, including one called leche asada (loosely translated, barbequed milk. It actually sounds really good!). But don’t worry, Olga usually cooks really healthy and I eat tons of fruits and veggies.

I’m going to bed early because I have class tomorrow at 8:30 am at La Chile, another 45 minute trek. My schedule still isn’t 100% set because when I emailed the professor in charge of study abroad credit transfers for the Spanish department at Tulane about my classes, she told me that my classes were close enough to the Spanish department classes and I probably won’t get major credit for them. Arrrgggghhh. So all weekend I’ve been debating whether stick with the schedule I have (classes I want to take, including 2 theology classes, and only on Monday and Wednesdays) and not get many Spanish credits, or try to change my schedule to take more literature classes (which will end up being difficult classes I don’t want to take). If anyone has any advice, let me know!

I hate to end on a sad note, but I’m sure some of you heard about the American study abroad girl who died this weekend in Valpariaso. I don’t know who it was or exactly how it happened, but apparently she went hiking with some friends. They wanted to go back but she decided to climb to the top on her own. It was getting dark and she fell from the top of the hill. When she didn´t return, her friends sent a park ranger to find her and they found her body in a ditch. Please pray for this girl’s family, friends, school, and study abroad program during this unimaginably difficult time. I know everyone’s worst fear is to lose a loved one, especially when they are so far away. This really hit close to home for me and definitely made me think about how blessed I am to be here yet how much responsibility I have. Please know that I am having fun, being safe and making smart choices. Your thoughts, prayers, and entertaining comments are greatly appreciated and keep me going!

Overall this weekend made me think about a lot of things. Perhaps all the time staring at the waves or something. A few things I realized:

• I really miss my family and friends back home.
• My difficulty with Spanish continues to frustrate me. Part of me wants to give up. The other part of me knows that all the frustration and mistakes and constant what?s will all be worth it if I can ever reach some level of fluency.
• I hate being wrong and making mistakes. But I hate not being able to express my thoughts. I need the confidence to just speak my mind, knowing that I will screw up. Just because I can’t speak fluent Spanish doesn’t mean I’m stupid.
• Despite my difficulty with speaking Spanish, it’s the understanding others that is absolutely most difficult. As many of you know, I have a tendency to ask “what?” after someone says something to me in English. I think that is because I don’t really listen the first time. So now I have to try to listen in Spanish. Wait, not Spanish, Chilean. I’m sick of not knowing what people around me are saying.
• I could totally get by in Chile by going to class and hanging out with my American friends. Even if we speak to each other in Spanish, I will never gain the level of fluency that I want. I have to make Chilean friends.
• Things always seem impossibly difficult before you actually do them (going to class the first time, navigating my way through Santiago alone, asking random people directions, etc.)
• Although I enjoy staying out all night dancing and drinking (but not too much, don’t worry!), I can’t do it very often. Not only is it unhealthy, but it ruins the next day. I want to do more than party. I want to go to museums and parks and go running and hang out with all types of different people and volunteer and study and go to mass and everything. You can’t do all those things if you are going out all the time.
• I hate cliques. I don’t mind being a part of one but I hate not being a part of another. Strange dichotomy right? Why do they form? How can we avoid them?

Alright, enough reflecting. I need to get to bed! All my love, Kayla