Seasons greetings from this New York girl who is as shocked as you are that she is missing winter a whole lot.
I hope that you are all cherishing the chilly weather and the beautiful snow that has been gracing the New York forecast lately, because here in Quillota, Chile it is a crispy 80 degrees on the regular and the sun is so strong that some days I feel like it is beaming into my soul.
I know that sounds like heaven for anyone who gets the winter blues, but I promise you I still have them except I'm just sweating instead of freezing.
As the title of this blog post suggests, I have officially finished out the first third of my Chilean adventure and am heading into the second phase which is Chilean summer. Let me tell you about my last week of school and then we will jump into how I am feeling about these next three months of scorching heat.
The end of the Chilean school year is very different from my American experience. In the U.S. or at least in NY, the end of the year is always stressful because we have final exams in almost every class and if you don't have a final you definitely have a Regents exam. This means that if anything, the pace of the end of the school year picks up and it turns into cram studying, extra long homework assignments, and in general is just a lot of go, go, go.
In Chile, we don't roll like that. This last week of school was basically optional because we hardly did a single thing in any classes. We had a few funky awards ceremonies and presentations by different school clubs but apart from that there was really no reason to be there. For me, this week still had value because if nothing else at least I was surrounded by Spanish for the whole day and could practice a little bit. But for the average Chilean student, I really couldn't see the value in bothering to come at all. Maybe that is just the New Yorker in me talking though.
I did end up asking one of the girls in my class why she even bothered coming to school at all and she told me that there is an attendance requirement and I suppose that makes sense, but still. If that was how the end of the school year had been in the U.S. for me, you best believe I would have found something more productive to do.
Yeah, that is definitely my inner New Yorker talking.
The last official day of school, which was Friday, December 5th, was equally as slow as the rest of the week. I spent a lot of time just sitting around with a few different groups of my friends.
In the morning we technically had Economics class with my favorite professor, but we just played a Spanish word game which I was really bad at but it was still a good time. Then I went with Ornella and Angela to watch a dance presentation that was happening in one of the other patios which was interesting. Then after that I danced some Just Dance with Isi, before sitting down to talk with my friends Ben, Cris, and Nicole.
Ben is actually German, but has lived in Chile with his family for about 10 years now, so he is fluent in Spanish as well as English. He likes to practice speaking in English with me a lot of the time, but don't worry, I always respond in Spanish.
I will say, it is super nice to have someone to bounce translations and language idiocincricies off of every now and then. I'm grateful that we get along.
The last event that we had for the day was a big huge Bingo game. With a legitimate pot and not just goofy stickers or candy or something.
Yup, you read that right. They literally taught us how to gamble in Chilean school on our last day.
Okay, okay, I know that is a little dramatic. But it cracked me up that in the U.S. you could never do something like that in school. Literally in order to play Bingo at the American Legion in Cambridge you have to be 18 years old or they won't let you in.
Anyways, I lost at Bingo but it was fun to play with Ben and Cris because we just goofed around the whole time. From an academic standpoint, it definitely helped me practice my numbers in Spanish so that was really good.
Before I left school that day, I said goodbye to most of my professors and Ben ended up giving me a water bottle as a Christmas present because we have an ongoing joke that I need one because I've been using a plastic one I bought in the Georgia airport this whole time. (Don't worry, I wash it. It was just easier than making a big deal about it) It was very thoughtful of him and it is the prettiest blue color so I will definately be using it.
Now for how I feel about Chilean summer.
So far, it doesn't feel that different from a weekend but that is probably because it is still the weekend.
Mostly, the biggest thing I am nervous about is letting myself slip into a lazy routine. I would in general consider myself a person who likes to be constantly moving, which I've definitely mentioned in other blog posts but oh well. It feels really scary to have so much unstructured time on my hands.
I'm not nervous that I will get bored per say, because I don't think that the constant chatter in my brain will ever let me get bored. But the lack of structure and stress that normally fill my days in the U.S. and on some level here in Chile when I am in highschool, will almost completely disappear. I'm scared to find out who I will be without that pressure and I'm scared that it's going to make me a slacker or something.
When I come back to the U.S. I have to attend one of our nation's top universities for four years and I need to be on my A game. I am terrified that Chile isn't pushing me the way I need to be pushed to be ready for that pressure.
Mom tells me that that is a goofy way to think and that I'll be fine. She says I'm growing in deeper ways, even though they might not feel like they follow a straight trajectory of personal growth. I know deep down that she is right like she always is, but I think I am still allowed to be nervous because those are feelings.
On a more external level, I'm also a little nervous about what my role will become within my host family. I don't want them to think I'm lazy or useless, but at the same time I really am more of a nuisance in the restaurant than anything. I try to help here and there when I can, but for the most part everything moves too fast for me to understand, let alone lend a helping hand.
And this applies even more because the peak summer season is rapidly approaching and that is when the water park and restaurant will be filled with people and I know everyone is going to be really stressed which stressed me out.
Wish me luck because it's gonna be an adventure.
That's really all I've got for now. Yesterday I did get to help in the restaurant a little bit because we were preparing for a large group that is here today. We packed desserts and I helped organize little meal ticket stubs so that was good.
I can't believe it is literally December. Please know that if I saw you in the post office or out and about I would tell you Merry Christmas :)
Much love always,
Anna
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