Bitter Sweet Goodbyes

Well, it has finally come to an end. My last week in Coyhaique was really hard. I really didn't want to go but all good things must come to an end. I cried and said my good byes and now I am traveling again. I am traveling with my host family through basically all of Chile. Right now we are in Vina del Mar and I later this weekend Valparilaso and then back to Santigo until I leave on the 28th. I am ready to go now. I miss my family and my friends and the easiness of my life in Townsend. But I definitely will come back someday though.

Familia

learning Chileno

When I first arrived in Chile I became immediately aware of the fact that Chileans don't speak Spanish they speak Chileno. I realized that I knew NO Spanish, even though I had studied for 2 years in school, you really can't truly learn a language until you are immersed in it. Well over these passed few months I have learned bits and pieces of these different languages; Castellano, Chileno, Argentino, Flaite, and Weas (that is how the regular teenagers talk). Castellano is Spanish Spanish and they speak with kind of a lisp so there "s" are like "th". Chileano has so many different random words from other Spanish speaking countries.
Cachay- You know
Bacan- Cool
Jueee- Wow
Weon- could mean lots of different things and not always good. : )
There are countless slang words but those are my favorite. They also like to add -po to the end of their words. For example "si" is "sipo". Cachay? Good, now for the Argentinos. They tend to say their "ch" like "sh" and their "r" at the end of words are pronounced like "L". For example amor, which means love, is amol. 
 They also call each other "che" for us pronounced "chay."
Flaite... the equivalent to hood rat or "juvenile delinquent" for us in the U.S. Haha well there not all that bad but they definitely stand out. Walking down the street you can easily see who is Failte. From the way they dress, talk and the music that they listen to. My favorite favorite sayings of the Flaites are;
Shawww- is like yeah
Wena- Good
Ayi no ma- Good enough, or right on
And last but not least Weas. It is the slang of the average teenager and it involves frequently used curse words which I will not share because even though you won't understand they are still bad words.     

This is a some of the Chicas from my volleyball team playing around in Puerto Aysen during a volleyball tournament. I have a little over a month left and I can't believe how fast the time has flown by. If I could go back in time I definitely would choose a year program. I am going to miss my friends and host family so much I can't even describe. I will return one day that is for sure. Nos Vemos!

Puerto Montt

Last Thursday 15 exchange students from the south of Chile gathered for a reunion in Puerto Montt. We stayed in a Hostel like building. It was a church actually and I am still struggling to find a name for it in English. We all stayed until Sunday. The weekend consisted of eating lots of really good food, lots of chocolate, going to the newspaper editor, seeing the ocean, going to the oldest building in the city which was a church, going to the fish market and artisan market, and lots of laughing. My favorite part of the trip was being with the other exchange students. It is much different than being with students at home in Montana or in Coyhaique. For one thing, we all have the same struggles and we all understand the difficulties. And secondly exchange students are just a different breed of kids altogether. haha I say this because they have strength, independence,and intelligence like no teens i have ever meet before. And they are all a little "Loco".

Time For Change

Well this past week has been the hardest of my experience so far. I had complications with my host family and my family back home so we found that changing houses was the best solution to the problem. I have been living with my new family for three days now and they are some of the most kind, and generous I have ever meet. I feel very comfortable here. My new host sister and I were friends before and that is how i ended up here. We get along great and it feels like a sleep over every night! Next week I travel to Puerto Montt with the other exchange students that are living in the south, from Friday until Sunday. I am Excited to see more of Chile. I have been obsessed lately with my camera so there will be plenty of pictures. I am feeling very very optimistic now and I am sure that the remainder of my time here will be one of the greatest times of my teenage years.

Half way there

I am past the half way point and I think that time is going to go even faster now. I am learning a lot of Spanish and I am able to communicate  much easier. I have gained like 5 Lb. or more already. : ( but what the hay! this is a once in a life time experience and the don't have the same food back home. Last night i received some very sad, and difficult news. One of my mothers best friends and almost a second mother to me, past away this week. She had had breast cancer for 5 years. She is finally at peace. It is hard being away from my family in these times of tragedy but I know that in the end this will make me a stronger person. 

Half Wa There!

my third month is now almost coming to a close. This means I only have three months left. It´s crazy how the time flies. I feel like i just got here. My spanish is struggling, but it´s mainly because I speak Engilsh with my host brother. It is very dificult at times to adapt to the culture. now that the newnest is gone it is just living regular life and trying to get along like normal, except it is so far from my normal. I have awesome friends. I am playing volleyball and going to a dance class with my other exchange student friend from Switzerland. Well I got to go for now. We have a volleyball game in like 4 minutes sooooooo catch you later!

No Entiendo! (I don't understand)

These first to weeks have been hard because of the language barrier. I feel like a broken record "no entiendo, no entiendo!" It's ok though because i have great friends and I am learning fast. I am have a pretty stable daily routine that I am starting to get used to. My favorite parts of the day are meal times! The food is great here. I loveeeeee this stuff they call Manjar. It is like carmel but more milky. I am going to be carring a few extra lbs. home that is for sure. I have lots of pictures on facebook so look me up and you can look at some. I have pictures below of me in my uniform. 

My First Week!

I arrived in Santiago on Thursday. We took an over night flight so we had to sleep on the plane. That wasn't the most pleasant trip, the smell of airplane food made me feel sick to my stomach. Anyway, we arrived in Santiago that moring and went to the hostal where the orientation was to be held. The hostal was actually a monastary/ safehouse type thing, with court yards and sanctuaries. It was gorgeous. I made so many friends from all over the world and learned alot about Chilean culture even in those two days. I arrived in Coyhaique on Sunday. It is so beautiful here. My host family lives on 3.7 acres of land in about 5 miles out of town. We went on a walk my first day and we found this bush with the tastiest little berries, so my host siblings and I eat them. They were called Calafate berries and the legend says that he who eats the berries will always return to Chile. So there you have it, my first 24 hours and I already know that I am coming back. My host family is amazing. They are very patient with the language and they are a very loving and close family. We drink Mate, which is a strong tea that you drink out of a special cup and straw, everyday in the afternoon with lunch. If you aren't familiar with how the eating schedule is here in Chile, it goes like this. Small breakfast of coffe and bread, luch is the biggest meal of the day eaten at about 2 to 3 o'clock, and late dinner (aka Once) is very small and served late at about 9:00. It is actually a big change to go through. Speaking of big changes, I started school today. I am attending Liceo San Felipe Benicio. We wear uniforms and go to chruch class because it is a private Catholic school. I was so nervous.  My spanish is very limited and it was like speaking spanglish, but in spite of those things the students were very kind and interested in me. I can't wait to see what tommorow brings. I'll keep you posted.

Travel Time!

It is Thursday the 24th and I am in Miami! It is a beautiful sunny day with a slight breeze and there is a feeling of excitment in the air (although slighting muted from the lack of sleep). I woke up at 5:30 Wednesday morning and went to the airport with my friends and family. After some very hard goodbyes I finally was on my way. After spending the whole day on the plane, I arrived in Miami and headed to the hotel for my AFS orientation. The food is great!!! and the kids I met from all over the contry are awesome. After the orientation wednesday night, and few minutes of MTV, I crashed at about 10:30. Tonight I leave for Santiago, Chile where I will have a three day orientation until sunday when i finally get to fly to my home away from home! COYHAIQUE! Wish me luck!

Fundraising!!!

Hello everyone. It has been a while since my last post and I am little embarrassed to say that it is due to the fact that I forgot my password. Well i am sorry about that so let me tell you what has happened since then.  Around Christmas my hometown of Townsend, Montana always puts on a Christmas stroll with vendors, music and good food. So to kick off my fund raising I put on a "Chili for Chile" with a little help from Santa's little helpers and my mother and grandmother. We sold chili with homemade rolls and coffee, and I asked my grandpa's construction company to sponsor Letters to Santa, which was a huge success. Every kid who wrote a letter to Santa got a free lollipop and dropped their letter in the mail box to the north pole. I also sold lollipops in my high school around thanks giving for people to send to their friends to show their appreciation for one another. With the money from my friends and family and my giving community, I have raised enough money to pay for my tuition and my plane ticket. : ) I am planning to have a thank you/ go away party very soon for everyone who helped me and it will be a good chance for me to say my goodbyes. My departure date is set for the 23 of February. It is almost time!