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