Home...

Hey everybody. Sorry it has been so long since I wrote, my last week incredibly busy. On Thursday, after my last blog, I went to Florencia's house and played some piano and sang while she and a few other gringos started making some of the Thankgiving food. After that I went and helped to prepare what turned out to be an absolutely delicious Thanksgiving meal. We had it all, turkey, stuffing, potatoes, gravy, you name it, even if it wasn't exactly the same as home. It was a pretty crazy night though. Everybody got drunk because Ryan bought 15 bottles of wine, plus the other alcohol everybody else brought. It was pretty entertaining to say the least. Strange, but definitely a successful Thanksgiving.
Casi, Kenna and I left on Friday morning for Santiago and spent the entire weekend in a flat my parents own. My Chilean dad gave me a huge gift before we left. He bought all three of our train tickets, first class, which cost about 75 dollars total. Then he told me there would be a taxi waiting to take us to an apartment they own, that we would get to use it for the whole weekend, and that the taxi would be back in the morning on Monday to take us back to the train station. When I left on Friday morning he gave me 40 mil, which is about 80 dollars, to pay for any taxi rides we would have to take. Plus, my mom got us a reservation at an Italian restaurant called Domenica. The owner is a good friend of theirs so they worked out the payment method in advance, which means we got to have a nice Italian dinner for free. I was floored when they told me all of this, it was an amazing gift.

We rode the train to Santiago on Friday, went walking all over the town in the afternoon, and then went to a nice dinner. In the morning we got up fairly early and spent the day walking around town and sightseeing. We went to the zoo as well, it was horribly depressing though. The cages were very small, and they didn't really have any habitat to make it feel like home, plus the people were feeding the animals. Not very good conditions to say the least. So we left early and continued to walk around. We caught the subway home at the end of the day, then bought some pizza and went to relax for the night. On Saturday we got up late and took our time getting ready then walked to Vale's house, Casi's Chilean sister, and spent some time chatting. After that we took the subway to the other side of town to go to The Killers concert. We couldn't find the arena, so we asked a man and his wife, they were walking that direction, so they took us part way. When we got to where their son was waiting in a car she tried to explain where it was, then stopped and said it was super far. She then told us, here my son can take you in his car... so we got into a stranger's car and he took us. So much for my teachings as a child, haha. It ended up perfectly safe though, and we had a great conversation with the man about how we shouldn't do anything like this after the concert because it was a little bit of a sketch area, go figure. It was very entertaining. The concert was absolutely amazing. We all got T-shirts before for about 16 bucks (yay for cheap concert shirts, that never happens in the states). We met a kid named Hugo at the concert. It was his first one, and none of his friends were able to afford it, so he hung out with us. I loved it, and hope to go to another soon.
On Monday we rode the train home and then that night I went out to dinner with my family, and they gave me a gift of artificial diamond earrings. My mom said it was because she always sees me wearing the same ones, and that I needed a new pair. It was a very fun dinner, with lots of laughs, and wonderful memories. I already miss them all very much.
On Tuesday I had class and then we held a big asado, or bbq, for all the gringos. My mom couldn't make it because she was in Santiago, but my nannies helped my dad and I host it. Turned out to be another giant success, just as Thanksgiving was. Everyone had a great time, and we had our last choripan of the term and partied the night away... almost. Florencia came, and had us stop the party around 11:30 because we had Spanish 311 in the morning. That was just fine with me considering we had started at 6. It was a very eventful night of drinking all kinds of crazy things: Jager bombs, Absinthe, piscola, we had it all, haha. Then people were jumping into the pool, Pat broke a glass and then later stepped on a missed piece and cut his foot... there was just adventure all around. But, evern so, it turned out to be very fun, and we all enjoyed ourselves very much.

Wednesday we had 311 again and then ceremonia de despedida and cena de despedida. we spent all of 311 receiving little gifts from Margarita and then singing the most famous latin american song: Te Levante La Mano by Americus... a very entertaining class to say the least. It was great fun, and we didn't mind not actually having to do anything. The ceremony in the afternoon was nice. I actually understood the speeches this time, unlike at our welcome ceremony, which was rather rewarding. After a few speeches they gave each of us little diplomas and a gift. The gift was a knit beanie from the mercado that says Chile across the front. After that we went to the cena de despedida and ate at Tijuana. It was pretty funny considering we went at 9 and no one was in the restaurant but us. People don't normally start coming out till around 11. So we had a huge table to ourselves in the middle of the restaurant and danced on our own personal dance floor. I left fairly early because we had our last final in the morning. It was sort of a bittersweet dinner because it was fun, but we all realized that it was the last time all of the group would be together. We are making plans and hoping to get together for a few gringo parties in the states next term.

Thursday I took my oral final with Kenna at 11, it only lasted 15 minute, so we went to the mercado one final time. After that we went to lunch at my house to eat with my family and relax by the pool in the sunshine. It was a very relaxing day just tying up loose ends and packing up loose things. That night my mom got home and we had Santiago lasagna and chocolate cake, then I gave my family a final piano/singing concert. It lasted about an hour because my mom kept saying next, what's next? It was very fun. Then when it was time for Andrei to go to bed my parents told him to say goodbye and then get in the shower. He gave me a hug, but then wouldn't let go. It was adorable, he just kept saying, "You can't leave, I'll miss you, and you're going to miss my birthday." His mom kept telling him to get in the shower, but he just would not let go. He finally let go once I promised him he could come wake me up before he left for school and say goodbye. After that my dad and brother and I exchanged e-mails and such, and they both told me they were going to get Skype so they can talk to me while I am here.

Friday morning I got ready and then my brother Yerko came home from colegio after a test just to say goodbye, then he had to drive straight back to his next class, it was very sweet. I said my goodbyes to Mary and Mahry. They each gave me a little gift. Mahry gave me a wooden box from the mercado with the Cathedral on the top and afectuosomente, Mahry written on the inside of the lid. Mary gave me a little blue porcelain holder for earrings and neclaces. They both kept telling me how much they would miss my smile and the happiness I brought into the house. They said there would be something missing that they couldn't describe, that was just me. It was hard to leave them. After getting everything in the car and saying all my goodbyes my parents took me to pick up Casi and then brought us to the bus station. We met Kenna at the bus station, we had so much stuff... two big suitcases each plus a backpack and carry-on each. My parents waited with me until the bus came, then we said goodbye and I left on the bus with Casi and Kenna. It was so incredibly hard to say goodbye to them, and my dad told me, "remember that you are a Luksic now, and a Luksic never gives up." They both thanked me for being their new daughter and told me they will miss me very much.
It was a long 6 hour bus ride, 5 hour wait in the airport, 10 hour flight to Dallas, 3 hour lay-over that turned into 4 after a delay, and another 4 hour flight to Portland. There were 5 of us on the trip together and we all made it through customs and safely home without incident. My parents and Danny picked me up in the airport and I am home! It is definitely wonderful to be home, I have missed everyone so much, and I couldn't be happier to be back with Danny. But, it is also very strange, and a little hard to be back. I miss my Chilean family so much already, and just feel a little weird about everything. Haha. Oh well, yay for reverse culture shock!

I think that about sums up my last week. I will be writing one last blog after this, probably over the weekend. I think it will be just a little reflection about things I have learned and how the trip was, people I've met, that sort of thing. Hope everyone is doing wonderfully, I will be seeing some of you very soon. Thank you all so much for reading and supporting me while I was away. All the prayers from you were invaluable and helped me to overcome the obstacles I encountered. Call me if you want to get together over break or just to chat 971-275-5490. Chao for now.

Kayli

Diez días más...

Hello all, I hope everything is going wonderfully at home. I miss you all, and can't wait to see you. Only 10 more days!! I ended up not going to Santiago last weekend, but I did spend some time with my family on Saturday, then spent the night at Casi's on Saturday night as well as the most of Sunday. On Sunday afternoon I went to an air show with my dad and little brother. It was the first one I have seen, and was very enjoyable. I took lots of pictures of the tricks, and the people I was with as well. On the way there we were almost to the parking lot when the show started, so we all sat outside the windows and watched from there.
Once we got there we watched from the top of the cars.
Afterward we walked onto the main field, and watched a helicopter take off, and then went home. Here is the group. On the right is my brother, Andrei, on my dad's shoulders and Maxi, Andrei's best friend. On the left is Maxi's little brother on his dad's shoulders.

I got all my homework for the week done, so that I wouldn't have to worry about it, and could just study for my tests. This is my last week of Español 213, Cultura and Gramática. The next 10 days will probably fly by. I have two tests tomorrow, then am heading over to Florencia's to play some piano and sing for her. After that we are having Thanksgiving dinner at Florencia's made by all the students. Friday morning I leave with Casi and Kenna for Santiago to site see all weekend, and go to The Killers concert on Sunday night. We will get back on Monday around two. Tuesday I have class in the morning, then my family and I are throwing a huge asado (BBQ/party) for all the gringos, it should be very fun. Wednesday and Thursday I have class again, and will be packing up and getting my last gifts from the mercado. Then it's bye bye Chile, and hello America on Friday. The students and I may be going to Santiago on Thursday night next week to the American bar and watching the Civil War game there, we shall see.

I got to drive last weekend, which was so great. I have missed driving a lot. I drove to Casi's on Saturday afternoon, and then to the train station and home on Sunday. My dad was with me both times, of course. My dad actually gave me an amazing gift this week. When we went to the train station he bought mine and my two friends round-trip tickets to Santiago. He also will have a taxi waiting to take us to the flat they are letting us use for the weekend, and it will be back on Monday to take us to the train station. My mom also bought me minutes for my phone this week. My family is so amazingly generous with me. I will be grateful to them always for all the kindness they have shown me since I have been here.

Well, that's about all that's going on here, not much time left to do anything else. I will see you all very soon, and wish you luck on your upcoming finals.

Chao,
Kayli

Menos de tres semanas más...

Hola mis amigos! So sorry for not writing in so long. I have been super busy having lots of fun, and also doing lots of homework... ew. Let's see if I can remember what I have been doing since the last time I wrote. Ready... go!

I spent Halloween night at Casi's house watching movies with her and Kenna, and also handing out candy to the kiddos. We discovered that children here are more greedy and rude when it comes to candy. Instead of knocking once, or ringing the doorbell once, they ring the doorbell about five times, and then proceed to pound on the door until it is answered. After said door opens the kids push their way passed each other over the threshold and hold their bags out to you. Most don't even bother saying trick-or-treat, or thank you. We would put candy in their bags and then they would continue holding them out, like we were going to give them more, till we started closing the door. We even saw some children twice, and at that point just stopped answering the door. But, it was still a very fun night.

The week after Halloween I didn't really do much except school and homework. The next weekend we had a joint birthday party for Ruby and Sarah at Skylar's place. When I got there it was just a few girls, and Tiara and Jessica wanted to do my make-up and hair over, so I let them, then when Casi was going to take a picture Kenna decided I needed to look like I was double fisting it. Although one of the drinks in the picture is alcoholic it is Kenna's, and the other is just a coke. Haha. So here is what I have really been doing in Chile...
It was a very fun party. Many jokes, and lots of horseplay, of course. At one point I was helping with the choripan, part of the BBQ, and Sky's mom had to go inside to get something. She was smoking and couldn't take the cigarette inside, so she turns to me and says, "Can you hold this please?" then disappeared into the house. I started laughing and called Casi. Then Kenna turned around and hands me her drink again while shouting, take a picture, take a picture. I started laughing hysterically, and the first picture wasn't very convincing...
I got it right on the second one, and it looks more real. But, I was very red from laughing so hard. So now I have been drinking and smoking in Chile!! Except not. Haha. After the party we went to Biblioteca, a pub, for a few hours because Matt and David were going to be playing a few songs. David played drums, and Matt sang and played electric guitar. They called themselves Pan y Palta, bread and avocado, and played pretty well. All in all it was a very enjoyable night, although I was very tired when at Biblioteca.

The next week I still didn't do much other than school and homework. The school was still in Parro so we had classes late, from 5 to 8. I got up late every day and went running, then ate lunch with my family, did some homework, and relaxed a bit. I went downtown a few times, got some more gifts for family, and took a bunch of pictures. It was a very nice week.

Last weekend all of us gringos, plus Florencia and her kids, went South to Valdivia, Puerto Varas, Puerto Montt, and Frutillar. We only stopped in Valdivia on the way down and had lunch at Kuntsmann. I tried some of somebody's beer, and everyone was ooing and ahhing that I was being so brave. They were not disappointed by my grossed out face afterward. Haha. After that we stopped at a fuerte called Castillo de Niebla, which had some very pretty scenery. We got in to Puerto Varas around 8 and went to dinner all together. We stayed in some very nice cabins while there, so that was cool. On Saturday we went to Puerto Montt and walked around a little mercado for a while. It had some very neat trinkets, and I finally found something for dad and for Danny. Yay! I was worried I would never find anything. After that we went to lunch and then to a National Park near Volcan Osorno. I cannot for the life of me remember the name, but it was amazingly beautiful. Here is just a glimpse of the beauty we encountered...
We stayed there for a few hours and walked around. There was a lake with a waterfall in the middle of the park, and Florencia told us that every year someone jumps in. Jimmy and Rhett decided not to disappoint, so they took a little swim in their underwear in the frigid waters. Very entertaining to say the least. After that I went trailblazing for a little while as everyone sat around. I met Jessica doing the same and we went together. It was very beautiful and we got so many wonderful pictures.When we got back from the park we went to dinner in the same restaurant as the night before. It was a very nice quaint, homey restaurant with delicious food. I had great steak the first night, and Chupe, which is shredded crab meat in some cheese and other things, the second. It has the consistency of very thick clam chowder, and actually tasted a bit like it too. I loved it. Saturday night I went out to a pub with some of the crew, and we danced the night away. When we got back to the cabins Casi, Ashley and I went to watch Up with Jimmy and some of the other boys. Jimmy is a light weight, and had a bit too much wine with dinner. Everyone else was pretty out of it too, so it was very entertaining. They had fed Jimmy some stale bread with cheese on it to get some food in him. They had him convinced that it was a pizza, and he kept raving about how amazing it was. Said it was heavenly, and that he would long for it's amazing sauce every night for the rest of his life. The boys all went to bed before we even reached half way, so Casi, Ashley and I went back to our own cabin. We ended up staying up till 6 in the morning just talking and doing whatever. We got up at 9 and left for home later in the morning. We stopped in Frutillar on the way home for lunch. We walked around for a while beforehand and found some fun stuff. We got home around 10:30, and I went to bed around 12:30. This week our class schedule is different, so I had to get up around 7. It was a very fun weekend, and I only told about half of the stories I have from the passed few weeks, but I am pretty tired after all the fun.

The school is still in Parro, so we are taking classes at Club Ñuble now, from 9 to 1:45. Spanish 311 started this week, so my schedule has become busier and my homework load has grown. My other classes all end on the 26th though, so that will be nice. I am no longer going to Santiago with my family this weekend, because it's my brother's graduation from "colegio" which is high school. Instead we will probably have another gringa's night on Friday, and my family and I might be going to a beach town on Saturday to play. Next weekend is the Killers concert. Casi, Kenna and I are leaving that Friday to go site seeing with Casi's chilean sister. We will be staying in her apartment. The concert is on the 29th at 8, and we return Monday afternoon. Then we leave for the airport Friday that same week so I have a busy few weeks but I am looking forward to them. I am having an absolutely wonderful time, and I am going to miss Chile, and my chilean family when I return. But, I also cannot wait to get back.

Anyway, I believe that wraps up the highlights. It is time to finish this novel, and get to work on some homework. I hope everyone is doing well. I miss each and every one of you so much, and can't wait to see you in less than 3 weeks!

Chao for now,
Kayli

Solo porque...

Para las personas que no hablan español hay un traducción en inglés después del español. (For poeple who do not speak Spanish, there is a translation in English after the Spanish.)

Porque estoy en Chile para estudiar español, pienso que necesito escribir algunas cosas en Español. Necesito hablar solo en Español por las cinco semanas próximas, y voy a tratar. Pero, es un poco más difícil que pensaba originalmente. Entonces, voy a trabajar más duro. Ahora, solo quiero compartir algunas cosas que me gusta sobre la lengua, y sobre cosas estoy aprendiendo. Me encanta que, en Chile, tú pasas tiempo con personas, no lo gastas como en los Estados Unidos como si su tiempo es más importante de la persona contigo. Solo pasas tiempo con personas porque quieres. También, me encanta que tú das su atención, no lo pagas como si lo es dinero. Además, me gusta que almuerzo es más importante acá. La familia trata estar en casa siempre para almuerzo para pasar tiempo juntos. Hay conversaciónes importantes, riendo, conexión y mucho más. Creo que la gente en los Estados Unidos han olvidado algunas partes de la importancia de familia.

En mis clases hoy aprendí cosas muy interesantes. La lectura en Lengua fue sobre la dictadura de Pinochet. Las personas tenía una toca de queda que era rediculoso. A las cinco en la tarde hasta siete de la mañana no podían ir afuera de la casa. También, personas desaparecidas con frequencia y nadie sabían donde se fueron. Dos de los primos de mi profesora desaparecidos durante ese tiempo. Pero, aun con estas cosas, hoy algunas personas ven Pinochet como un héroe. No entiendo, pero es muy interesante. Además, después de su dictadura, Pinochet vivió en Chile sin problemas. Nadie le importa que un dictador vivió en su país todavía. Muy raro.

Pues, está bien por ahora. Lo siento para errores, pero escribí sin mis libros y diccionarios. Un experimento chiquitito. Chao.

In English...

Because I am in Chile to study Spanish, I thought I needed to write some things in Spanish. I need to talk only in Spanish for the next 5 weeks, and am going to try. But, it is a little harder than I originally thought. So, I am going to work harder. Now, I just want to share a few things that I like about this language, and about things I am learning. I love that, in Chile, you pass time with people, not spend it like in the states as if time was more important than the person with you. You only pass time with them because you want to. Also, I love that you give your attention, not pay it as if it were money. Furthermore, I like that lunch is more important here. The family always tries to be home for lunch to spend time together. There are important conversations, laughing, connection and much more. I believe that people in the states have forgotten some of the importance of family.

In my classes today I learned some very interesting things. The lecture in Language was about the dictatorship of Pinochet. People had a curfew that was ridiculous. From 5 in the afternoon to 7 in the morning they couldn't go outside the house. Also, people disappeared frequently and no one knew where they were. Two of my professor's cousins disappeared during this time. But, even with these things, today some people see Pinochet as a hero. I don't understand this, but it is very interesting. Also, after his dictatorship, Pinochet lived in Chile with no problems. Nobody cared that a dictator still lived in their country. Very strange.

Well, that's good for now. Sorry for errors, but I wrote without my books and dictionaries. A little experiment. Bye.

5 weeks and counting...

It's Halloween today... I'm going to go to Casi's to watch movies and then we will hand out candy to whatever kids happen to come to her door. Hopefully we will see a lot of them. I'm not really celebrating because we celebrated early. On Thursday night all the gringos went to a costume party for all of the Bío Bío students. It was my first party here in Chillan and was pretty good. I dressed up as a pirate wench and went with Cenecienta (Cinderella aka Casi).
It was a pretty good party, but it was very strange to see all the people I am here with drinking. Some of them were muy baracho, very drunk, which was weird because I haven't seen a lot of drunk people in my life. It was all around enjoyable though, and I'm sure I will be attending more in the future.

This week was a lot less busy than last week, which was nice. Tuesday night Kenna came over to spend the night, and Skyped with all of the new Freshmen in her sorority back home. It was pretty entertaining listening to it, the whole conversation was so stereotypically sorority, which I was not expecting. It was almost like valley girl time, I quite enjoyed it. On the way home from the bus stop we stopped at the playground and played on the teeter totter and the swings. It was very fun, and I realized that I have never been on a teeter totter before that.
Wednesday was a strange day. On Tuesday night they told us we had no lab because the students were protesting, but to show up for Lengua and Cultura. We didn't really know what to expect when we got to school, but when we arrived there were painted signs up all over the gate, and the only two entrances were closed and basically being gaurded by small groups of students. At this time the school is in what they call Toma. It is where they keep the gates closed and only let students through. Everyone still comes to school, but the doors to the hallways with classrooms are closed, and most of the lights are off. They also had one set of doors in another building barricaded with school desks. It was basically everybody just hanging out at school. They moved the two ping pong tables inside the main building, but blocked most of the door with a table so that you had to squeeze by to get in. There were also students playing video games on the TVs upstairs. They had some meetings that happened randomly as well. It was very strange. Florencia talked to the head student though, and they said they would let the gringos and their teachers through because we can't extend the program to make up for lost days. But, apparently on Thursday they changed their minds, because we didn't have school. The protest is for lower tuition, because they raise tuition 10% every year. It could last for a week, up to a month. As far as we have heard, it is supposed to continue next week. And the level of protest could raise passed Toma into a full shut down of campus. Florencia said she will just rent another room somewhere else, so we will see what happens in this next week.

On Wednesday night we had another noche para las gringas. Not everyone showed up this time because they decided to stick around the school and see what was up with the protest. It was another fun night though. Everyone forgot to bring snacks, so we walked to a little mercado in Villa Emmanuel and got some ice cream and cookies. We just spent the time hanging out in my room and chatting and eating pizza and other junk food, yay! Haha. It was nice and relaxing.
It has been super nice weather this week. About 80 all week, but today it is a little cooler and cloudy. My dad told me that is average for spring here, and that it will get into the 100s in the future.

Because we had no school on Thursday Kenna, Casi, Jimmy, Matt, David and I met up downtown to try to find some last minute costume pieces for the boys, and to find entire costumes for us girls. David showed us to a little shop where you could rent costumes for 7,000 pesos a night, that's about 12 bucks, so it was pretty cheap. We also checked out a little mercado we hadn't been to by the post office. I bought myself some cool earrings, and also a sun dress at a store we walked by. It was a nice relaxing time. After, I headed over to Casi's to hang out and get ready, and spent the night at her house after the party.

On Friday Kenna met Casi and I downtown to return our costumes. They were closed for lunch, so we had to waste about an hour. We went to the mall and Kenna shopped, and Casi and I watched, haha. Then we went to the supermarket and bought some mac 'n cheese to make for lunch, and then had some coffee in a shop in the mall. After we returned the costumes and got home we had toast and mac 'n cheese while watching How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days, then Kenna and I walked home. All in all it was a very strange, but enjoyable week.

I had a bit of a tough night last night. I was very tired of crowds from downtown, and all the whistles and stares and cat calls we gringas get. After being downtown three days in a row and walking a lot of places by myself I was very sick of it all. I was also incredibly homesick and ready to just be back. But, I'm still here and doing alright as of this moment. I'm sure it will get even better after spending more time with friends today.

Well, I think it is about time to wrap this novel up. I hope you are all doing well, and enjoying your Halloween week. I would still love to hear what is going on with you guys if you have the time to send me an e-mail (kaylirobison@canby.com). Talk to you all later, and see you in 5 weeks. Happy Halloween!! Chao.

Kayli

Half Way

Today marks the half way point of my trip! I have been here for 6 weeks and have 6 weeks left. It is a rainy, chilly day and I am sitting in my room listening to music and studying. This is what I do a lot at home during this time of year, so it's kinda making me miss home. A truck with 3 guys in it honked at me on my walk home from the bus today, and one of them blew me a kiss. It made me laugh so hard, and yet I kinda wanted to cry too. Strange days... this is what being a homesick girl does to me. Lol. We have been having quite the busy week. Had a test in Lab yesterday, and a speech in Lengua. I also just finished a test in Lengua and am preparing for one in Gramática. Plus, we had our normal pile of homework. I am definitely looking forward to the weekend, starting tomorrow.

Sounds like next weekend I will be going to Santiago with my family for sightseeing and to meet Yerko's sisters and such. I'm excited for that. Right now my mom is in Santiago for work again, and my dad will be meeting her there today or tomorrow. They will be traveling this weekend and will be back on Sunday. So it's just me, the boys, and the nannies this weekend. I am loving this family so much. On Tuesday, at dinner, my mom gave me a box of chocolates she bought me in Santiago, and told me there was also cake in the fridge for me. My little brother, Andrei, wanted me to watch him play Mario on his DS, so he sat on my lap for an hour explaining everything and asking me if it was the same in the games in the US. Then my dad gave us a pack of gum that he had bought for us to share. When I said I had to go study some more before bed Andrei whined "nooooooo" and put his head on my shoulder, but let me go. Then my dad gave me a kiss on the head and told me, "The chocolates are for energy to never give up. Because a Luksic (their last name) never gives up, and you are a Luksic now." My dad also told me last week that when he turns 50 he is having a big party, and hopes I can come back for it.

One thing I realized this week is that I'm actually tired of having nannies. Don't get me wrong, I love Mary and Mahry, but being waited on hand and foot is not the life for me. They do absolutely everything for me. I can't even just get a snack without them opening the cupboards for me. They are amazing, and sometimes I do enjoy not having to do my own dishes, but I am ready to go back to normal. I didn't realize how much I like to take care of others, and not the other way around. I want to make my own dinner, and clean my own room. I know... I'm nuts, lol. But, I am very ready to wash my own dishes, and not just leave them on the table.

So, that's pretty much what's up with me right now. But... I want to hear what's going on with everyone else. If you guys have the time you should leave me a short comment about what you are up to. Or if you can't figure that out, then just send me an e-mail (kaylirobison@canby.com). Still hope everyone is doing well, and still miss you all oh so much. See everybody in 6 weeks!

Chao,
Kayli

Five weeks down, seven to go...

Chile won the football game on Saturday while we were in Viña. It was quite an experience to be here in Chile when that happened. Before the game ended the city was completely deserted because everyone was watching the game. Two minutes after the game ended the streets were filled with cars stuffed with too many people. Everyone was honking their horns and waving flags and yelling. There was a square close to our hotel that everyone was running to, so we decided to go see what was up. There were about 300 people there all jumping up and down and cheering. Everyone was wearing red jerseys and waving Chilean flags. We joined in as much as possible yelling "Chi Chi Chi, Le Le Le, viva Chile!" It was an absolutely amazing experience. But a lot of the night was not so great for those that went out. Apparently they saw a teenage boy get killed after a policeman threw a cinder block at his back for running after trying to break down the doors to a McDonals. It was quite an interesting night.

On the way home we stopped in a cool little town that specialized in pottery. There were a ton of small tiendas down the main road with pottery plus so much more. I bought a gift for mom there. We didn't get home till 10 on Monday and then started another week of school. This week has been subjunctive and pronouns. It is very confusing, and I am not looking forward to the test tomorrow morning. Just hoping I don't fail after all this studying I've been doing. Chile won the game last night as well, so we are most definitely going to the World Cup now. Some of the students even got to go to this weeks game.

I have finally started running again, and am loving it. Didn't realized how much I missed and loved it. Fruit is in season here now and I get strawberries at home now, it's great. Mary now knows that I like them a lot and has been making sure my bowl is super full. This weekend I am just going to relax, catch up on homework and make sure I understand everything we have worked on so far. So not much exciting going on here at this moment.

I hope everyone is doing well, I miss you all so much and can't wait to come home. Half way through one week from today. Woot! Anyway, tienen una noche marvillosa. Chao, chao.

Kayli

Still here... still breathing...

This weekend I am in Valparaíso with todos los norteamericanos. The city is pretty, and I love being near the ocean. It is an absolutely gigantic city, but we are actually staying in Viña del Mar which is right next to it. Today we went to the city, rode a boat out a ways, and walked around a lot. I got to drive the boat with the help of Elias, our pilot, it was very fun. I decided my favorite thing about being here is all the awesome mercados with their super cheap, super cool stuff. Today I bought myself a little colorful mapish thing of Chile. It has all the names of the states on it, and a picture of something unique from a few of them. I think it is made of some sort of plastic, but it is made to look like metal. Moral of the story, it's hard to explain but me likey.

Had a hard night last night. Missing Danny especially, so Ben's mom keeps telling me I need tres pololos chileno (three chilean boyfriends). It has been quite hillarious. But even though I am missing home and those there I realized this week how much I love my Chilean family, and how much I am going to miss them when I leave. My chilean dad called me today just to check on me and ask how I was doing, and I think we are going to take a family trip to Santiago soon so they can show me around. I'm looking forward to it. My brothers here are awesome. Yerko junior is a sweetheart. Very mature for a 17 year old boy, and has been very fun to talk to. Andrei is hilariously hyper active, but amazingly sweet considering that fact. I love spending time with him, and sharing meals with him. I am a bit sad because I haven't gotten to spend a lot of time with my mom yet, but I am looking to remedy that soon. My dad here is just a cherry on the top. He reminds me a lot of dad at home, and has been taking very good care of me. Don't worry dad, he could never, ever take your place, but he is doing very well for a stand in :).

I am super surprised at how much Spanish I have been able to understand lately, and speaking is a bit easier. I am, by no means, even close to being able to talk fluently or understand everything, but I am farther along than I thought I would be. The only thing I worry about now is how I will keep it up when I get home. I don't want to lose everything, language wise, that I learn from this experience. I have also learned so much about myself in the short time I have been here, mostly in the past week and can't wait to learn even more.

I hope everyone is doing well. I miss you all more than I could ever express in words, and can't wait to see you in two months. Hasta luego, chao.

Kayli

Three weeks down, nine to go...

School has officially started. We have been in it for to weeks now, and I have already given a speech and taken an exam. I've got another speech on Monday and an exam on Tuesday, plus tons of other little odd jobs. Things are moving incredibly fast, and I love it. For once I'm not wishing we would just get on with things, I like fast paced classes. My lengua class is taught by our program director Florencia and I really like it. It is just the simple learning Spanish class. Our lab is super easy, just listening and answering questions. Our lab teacher, Guillermo, is awesome. He is around 60 years old and has a British accent after studying English somewhere in London or Britain. He speaks very intelligently and you can tell he is constantly trying to think of how to make it as easy as possible for us to understand. My culture class is interesting, but I don't really like it. The teacher is cool because you can tell he is really in to the material, but he is super hard to understand considering he speaks solely in español. He blabs on and on about "identidad chilena" and "la famila chilena" and almost the entire time we have no idea what he is saying. He hardly ever asks us if we understand, doesn't pause long enough for us to say something, and speaks in incredibly elevated language. It is rather frustrating, but we are figuring it out. My Gramática teacher makes me die every day from either laughter, boredom or a mix of both. She talks to us like we are in kindergarten, it is absolutely ridiculous. I have not learned anything new in that class, it's all stuff we have already gone over in Lengua. Hopefully it will get better later when things are more difficult.

I am getting along really well with my family. My dad, Yerko, and I have been doing a lot together and he treats me like his own daughter. I love it. I haven't gotten to know my mom, Loreto, very well yet because she is very busy with work. My 17 year old brother, Yerko (yes the same name as his dad), and I haven't talked a lot because he is with friends a lot. He is very nice though, and I hope to spend more time with him later. My 8 year old brother, Andrei, is hilarious. He loves me right now because I play piano for him, and he is just learning. He always wants me to play and sing for him, and he quizzes me on the names of everything in the kitchen when we eat dinner together. I also have two nannies, both named Mary but pronounced differently. One is the normal pronunciation, the other is pronounced like Mah-ry. They are incredibly nice to me, and I cannot believe how much they do for us. They do laundry every morning, and I don't get it back till it is washed, hung dry, ironed and folded perfectly. They do all the dishes, and make all my meals. I don't even have to get up during meals for anything, they bring and take away everything. When I wake up in the morning my cereal and bowl are ready and waiting, and they always make sure to give me a snack for school. Their constant questions are "Was the water in your shower hot enough?", "Do you have any dirty clothes for me?", "Would you like to eat something?", and my personal favorite "Would you like dessert?". My family is already treating me as one of their own, even the nannies are starting to call me "mi niñeta" (my little girl). I love spending time with them, and they are all making my stay here much better.

I haven't done much since the last time I wrote, other than school, tons of homework and some trips to downtown. We went to Concepción yesterday and got to meet the president of the school. We also went to lunch at the beach and ate tons of cheese empenadas and fish. I'm pretty sure they had to make around 70 empenadas for us. The beach has black sand so I am bringing home a water bottle full to go along with my bottle of New Jersey sand. I also bought a present for Kristin at the mercado there. This week I am having coffee with my compañera on Monday, and we go to Viña del Mar in Valparaiso this weekend. Should be a nice weekend, and I'm sure I will have a lot to write about after.

Well, I think that I have written enough to take up sufficient amounts of time from your busy schedules =). I hope you are all doing well, I miss each and every one of you so much and can't wait to come home. Talk to you in a few days, chao.

Kayli

P.S. If you would like to see pictures just head to my facebook. I have 80 some odd pictures there. Love you all.

First week down

I am all moved in to my new house... have been for like 4 days actually. I love my new family, they are all so happy and active. I feel incredibly welcome and more at home now. The house is bigger than I thought, and my room is bigger than the one I have in the states. The family used to live in Santiago and when they moved to the house they built an extra little apartment for when their grandma comes to visit. When I walk in the front door there is a bathroom straight ahead, with my own personal sauna, and no I'm not kidding, a big bedroom to the right, mine, and a room to the left with a couch, bunk beds and some exercise equipment. The first week of classes is over now, and it went pretty well. I ride the bus to and from school everyday. Things are going a lot better now, but I still wish I could come home. For some reason, I had a really hard day homesickness-wise. Tonight I am either going to go out with everyone to La Biblioteca, a pub, or hang with my family. I think the second, cause I am tired and don't really feel like paying more money for the radiotaxis and such. Tomorrow I will probably go downtown and shop a bit for presents at the mercado. I absolutely LOVE the mercado. I wish we had something like that every day in the states. Anyway, that's enough for now. I'll catch up with you later. Chao.

Kayli

P.S. I am starting to plug my free phone in now more than before because I have wi-fi. It is a Magic Jack from my dad, a phone with an Oregon number that runs off internet. It will probably be plugged in every night from like 6 to 11 my time. Feel free to give me a call, or leave me a message. 503-919-4007.

Waiting

So... I am officially moving to a new house. I will be with the family with two sons and am very excited. Not only do I think they will be a very fun family, but apparently they have a very big house. Florencia told me they have a big backyard with a pool and... a piano inside!!! Plus, the father heard that I was sad I couldn't go to church and said he is super excited to take me to mass with him on Sundays... should be interesting, but fun. I am hoping to move in tomorrow night, but I am not sure yet. Florencia was going to talk to Rossana for me yesterday, but Rossana went to Concepción to visit family. Hopefully Florencia will get to talk to her today, but I guess we will just have to wait and see. I will continue to keep you guys updated.

We had a party at Florencia's on Thursday night. There were tons of people, and it was very fun. We started around 8 and the party didn't end till 1:30. I stayed after to help clean up, and ended up spending the night. I spent most of the day yesterday with Casi and her sister walking around downtown. It was Chile's independence day, so we went to on eof the little parties, called Ramadas, on the side of the street that looked almost like a little fair. There were lots of small covered areas to dance and drink in. There were games, swings to ride, some shops and snacks to buy. Then we walked to a Rodeo, but got there a little too late, so we just looked around the shops. Then I spent the night at Casi's place, and we have been spending the rest of the day just relaxing.

Things are still pretty hard for me, and I really miss home and everyone there, but things are getting a little easier. Thanks to everyone for all the prayers and words of encouragement. Love you all.

Kayli

Moving...

Well, it has been quite crazy the last few days. I had a really rough night on Sunday and spent the night at Florencia´s house. She is the director/our surrogate mother while we are here. She was very nice and her house was amazing. She mentioned to me that a change of housing, to one with more people, might help. We decided to hold off on the dicision and have coffee later in the week. I spent the next night at Ashley´s place, another girl in the program, and we went downtown to shop and explore for a little while the next day. Last night I spent the night back here at Rossana´s and watched TV for the first time. I discovered that there are like 10 channels in English with Spanish subtitles, it is so great! I can understand what is going on, YAY!

Today I finally did my laundry. It is so strange not having a dryer, my clothes aren´t warm and soft when I get them but cold and stiff. Oh well, I will get used to it. I also went out to coffee with Florencia and we talked about the possible move. We both decided that it would probably be the best thing for me right now and she gave me a few options to choose from. The first, whom she called today at lunch, is the family of her daughter´s boyfriend. A mom and dad who are both fairly busy with work, a son about 17 who knows a bit of English, and another son about 8 who is apparently very hyper and a bit of a brat. She said she thinks we would be good companions for each other because we would keep each other busy, haha. That is the family I am hoping to be with. The second is a family with a single mother, a son about my age who studies in Santiago and is home on some weekends, and two daughters a little younger than me. We got to drive by both of the houses on the way home, and they are really big compared to the one I am in now so it will be a big change. Who knows what will happen, but pray that God puts me where I need to be.

I have absolutely no idea what I will do for the rest of the week, but I´m sure I will find something to keep me busy. I will continue to keep you updated on my move. Love you all.



Amor siempre,

Kayli

Another day, another something...

Hola mi familia y mis amigos. I am here in Las Termas de Chillàn, a hot spring in the Andes. I went snowboarding yesterday and swam in the hot springs with everybody. They even had a little kareoke type thing after a while in the pool. They played "I feel good" for us gringos and the lady kept holding the mike in front of me, so I sang almost the whole song. It was really really funny. The rooms took forever to get ready though, so we had 20 people's junk in one room from 10ish to about 6. It was absolutely ridiculous since they told us the rooms would be ready at 4. But, we got free drinks, free wine with dinner, free lunch and 6 free half hour massages out of it thanks to the grand negotiating skills of Florencia. Now we just have to wait and see who gets the massages.

I had a great time yesterday and hope today will be good as well. I still miss everything and everybody though, and if someone told me I could go home tomorrow I would leave in a second. Hopefully when school starts I will get used to being here and not feel like that. We go home tonight and have next week off for Chillán's "Spring Break". Kayla and Ryan and I might take a trip to Santiago, we shall see. Hope everyone is doing well and enjoying the last few days of summer.

Amor siempre,
Kayli

Better day...

Yesterday was a better day. I got to go to Kayla's house, and they have wi-fi!!! So I got to Skype with Danny... yay! And her power actually worked to charge my stuff, so I didn´t blow a fuse like I did the night before. We had a welcome ceremony at the school, and one of the performing dancers made me get up and dance in front of the audience with him, thank goodness for those ballroom lessons. Haha. We also met our compañeros, mine doesn´t speak tons of English, and I have a hard time thinking of what to say, so I stay fairly quite, and I feel bad about that. I am hoping we will get along better later. Last night we went to a pub and had a great time. We were there from 10 till almost 1. I was so exhausted when I went to bed. It was fun, but there were still many hard times yesterday. This morning I am having an extrememly hard time, I miss my family and friends SO much. I know things will get better, but right now it doesn´t really feel like it. I really just wish I could come home. I am so tired of trying to communicate. At night my head literally feels like it is swollen. Rossana, my host mom, is so nice, but communicating is just so hard. I will hopefully get to go out to coffee with Florencia, the program director here, later today. She is teaching us, and is also like a second mom to us.

Anyway, I am having some fun, but am still in the midst of crappy culture shock. I am still not sure if this whole thing was a good idea, but I´m here now. Sorry that these posts just keep getting longer and longer. Hope you are all doing well, and I will talk to you later. Chao.

Kayli

And so it began...

I made it to Chillan safely at 3:00 here time (3 hours ahead of Oregon). I traveled for 24 consecutive hours and am absolutely exhausted. We had a flight to Dallas, then a layover, then a 9 and a half hour flight to Santiago, then a 5 hour busride to Chillan. Rossana met me in the park along with everyone else´s families. Since then we have been trying to communicate with my limited knowledge of Spanish, and doing alright if I do say so myself. I got to talk to mom and Danny on the phone for a few minutes each, and have cried twice and wanted to I don´t know how many more times. I really am fine, but because I miss home and have been awake for over 24 hours my nerves are completey fried and the slightest thing makes me a bit emotional. My brain is totally fried with trying to think in Spanish all the time, but I know it will all work out in the end.

My house is much smaller than I expected, and I brought WAY too much stuff, there is barely enough room for anything, so I will be living mostly out of suitcases for the next 3 months.

Anyway, I think I am going to go continue to try to fit many things into small spaces. My love to you all and Adios por ahora.

Kayli

P.S. Any prayer would be greatly appreciated, I am at my wits end today with all the happenings.

Goodbye America...

Tomorrow is the big day, I'm so excited/nervous/oh my goodness this is nuts!!! My suitcases are finally packed, and I think I have everything. I'm going to miss everybody, especially Danny, mom and dad. I'm a bit scared because my Spanish is not as up to par as it was 3 months ago and my host mom speaks absolutely no English. So, I could use some prayer for peace of mind and a fast remembrance of what little Spanish I know, haha.

I hope everyone is having a good last part of summer and that all transitions to school are going smoothly. Next time I talk to you it will be from Chile!

Love you all,
Kayli

In the beginning...

Hey all,
So, here is my first shot at blogging. I will try to post here at least once every two weeks while I am in Chile. It may be so exciting that I will post more often, we shall see. Hope this finds you all well, and let the adventures begin!