It´s been almost a month since my last update (much to my mother´s dismay), so I thought now would be a good time to fill everyone in on what I have been up to and how things are going. I am settled in to life here in Chile, and things are actually starting to feel (relatively) normal. I have a pretty typical routine with school, friends, and family. September has been a great month because it is all about celebrating Chile´s Independence (Fiestas Patrias is the name of the actual holiday, on September 18th). I did so many cultural things, from dancing a traditional Chilean dance with my class in front of the whole school, to going to festivals, to eating empanadas and asado (barbecue) almost every day. Two weekends ago, I travelled to Viña del Mar for a Rotary weekend. It was so great seeing all of the other exchange students and sharing each others´ experiences. This past week, I had a week off from school which was really nice (but unfortunately I will return to class tomorrow...). In this week, I spent a lot of time with my family as well as with my friends. I spent Wednesday night camping in an incredible place called Valle de Elqui (I strongly encourage you to look up pictures on google images) with my host brother and his friends. It was so cold at night time, but it was still a lot of fun. The night was so clear, I could see every star in the sky. On Friday morning I went surfing with my cousin, in the afternoon I went to an asado at my grandmother´s house, and in the evening I went to Pampilla, which is Chile´s largest Fiestas Patrias festival. That was lots of fun as well! Today, I went to a small beach town called Guanaqueros with my family (because they own a house there) for lunch. I had the best empanada of my life!! It was stuffed with fresh seafood and I think if I could only eat one thing for the rest of my life, it would be this empanada.
My spanish is improving every day, although it´s still far from perfect. I am proud of the progress I am making, and I am sure that soon I will be fluent. School seems to be getting easier, and I´ve made lots of friends which is great. Speaking of school, I have it tomorrow, which means I have to wake up early so it is time for me to wrap up this post. I hope this gave some insight about what I have been doing down here in Chile!
Happy first day of Spring (or Fall, for those of you in the Northern Hemisphere!).
The Rotary weekend in Viña! (There I am, in the middle!)
Asado with the familia on Friday!
