Unglamorous Update

This week kicked my butt. So much so that I actually learned how to say that phrase in Spanish. 

Don't ask me what it is, I can only say it, not spell it. 

You may be wondering why this week was so rough, and if I'm being honest, there is no one specific thing. Just an accumulation of exhaustion and homesickness and a stomach ache because I may have eaten too much food during the holiday week. Don't worry, I'm pacing myself now. But in my defense, when a persistent Chilean is trying to get you to eat delicious food it is really hard to have self control.

I'm going to give you a quick rundown of the week, and then any other thoughts that come to me along the way because that's just how my brain works. Thanks for coming along for the ride. 

Monday I went back to school, and for the most part it was very normal. I got to tell everyone about some of my vacation adventures and it was super nice to see all of my friends again. I would like to note that I was definitely a little disoriented going back to school after having been on vacation for a week, but that's exactly how I would have felt if I were in the U.S. Good to know some things don't change.

Tuesday was actually my host brother's birthday (Ignacio, the oldest) . The whole family got together and we ate a bunch of food and cake (which definitely didn't help my stomachache but it was delicious, Chilean cake is to die for). It was super sweet to see all the family come together to celebrate him, and I got about half of the happy birthday song right in Spanish so that was a win. 

Wednesday hit me like a ton of bricks. I should mention that every day except Friday this week, I stayed at school until 6:30 or later because I had theater club, and then had to wait for Claudia to come pick me up because she was busy with the restaurant. 

Additionally, on Wednesday my last class ends at 1:45 and theater doesn't start until 4:35, which is a long time to wait around. I may or may not have taken a short nap in the library, much to my friends' amusement. Either way, Wednesday I was tired. Tireddddd. 

When I got home that night I was so looking forward to maybe going to bed a little early, and that was the moment when my host dad, Gonzalo, told me that we were actually going out to dinner to celebrate Ignacio's birthday some more. 

Okay, okay, I could do this. It was around 9:30 when we left, so I figured the restaurant was nearby and I would be home by 11:00, 11:30 at the latest. 

Wrong. 

Something I am learning is that Chile's concept of time and how they manage it is very different from what I am used to in the United States. 

I didn't get back to the house until 12:30. My tireddddd just turned into exhausteddddd. 

Sometimes I feel a little bit ridiculous because at home I wouldn't bat an eye at doing any of these things, but I think because it is all in Spanish, in a new place, with relatively new people, it wipes me out way more than New York ever could. 

Now Thursday. I was dragging this day, but I tried my best not to show it too much during classes. Internally I felt like I had hit a wall. Or like I wanted to hit one. It was kind of a toss up between the two the whole day, and by the time I got to theater I was really ready to go home. Don't worry though, I stuck it out and when I did get home, Claudia kindly reminded me that my Rotary Club president would stop by to drop off my monthly salary. 

Perfect, was the thought I had to myself. Maybe I will actually be able to get some sleep tonight because lord knows I need it. 

Wrong again. 

Wouldn't you know that a Chilean house call lasts about 3 hours longer than a New York house call? Maybe it's just the New York culture of always being in a rush, but I was positively baffled at how long this gentleman stayed and chatted with us. 

I feel bad because I was so tired that my Spanish was lackluster and I was not on my A-game to be professional, but I did my best. Please know I did my best. It definitely didn't show though, because this gentleman has a lovely Chilean accent and a very soft voice which made it almost impossible for me to understand him. 

I went to bed around 11:30 this evening as well. Exhaustedddddddd.

I felt a little bit better today, Friday, because my stomach ache subsided a little bit, but the exhaustion persisted. I'm actually falling asleep a little bit writing this so please excuse any grammatical errors. 

Before I sign off, a few Anna thoughts. 

First, I have officially been in Chile for a month! It feels like it has gone so fast and on one hand that makes me so happy because I miss home so much and and literally counting down till I can get on that plane back to Albany. My homesickness is always resting in the corner of my stomach waiting for a random moment to remind me that I have so much waiting for me in New York. 

On the other hand, it's a little scary that my time here is going so fast. I can already tell that when it comes time to leave that it's going to be so hard. I love the people here a whole lot already, which I think can be partially attributed to the fact that Chilean people are so easy to get along with and partially to the fact that I genuinely just love people. 

One of my friends at school said to me the other day that she thinks I am actually a Chilean just trapped inside the body of a gringa (don't worry, they use that term very affectionately here, it does not have a negative connotation). I am taking that as the highest form of a compliment. I don't really know how that relates to the first thought, but it's something I'm proud of and wanted to include. 

Secondly, I haven't done a language update in a while. 

I think I'm slowly getting better. I'm struggling the most with feminine/masculine words because in Spanish you have to think about that with everything you say, which I'm not used to. Vocabulary and conjugations are my other weak points. I think that vocabulary and the feminine/masculine issue will be resolved with a little bit of time, but I'm nervous about the conjugations. I get all turned around sometimes and have a hard time remembering which tense I need to be speaking in and how I need to conjugate for different groups of people. 

Sometimes I wonder if I will ever be able to fully express myself in Spanish the way I do in English.

I think the answer to that inquiry is no, because each language is different and there will never be a direct translation for everything because culturally those words won't have the same significance. 

However, upon having this thought I also realized that I can learn how to express myself in a "Spanish way" if that makes any sense. There is a different kind of meaning with the words here, but once I learn enough of them, I can express myself in a way that fits the culture of Chile, just like I do with all of my knowledge and vocabulary in English.

That probably sounds bananas, but I swear it makes sense in my head. If you'd like some more clarification send me a message because I can talk with anyone now that my "30 days dark" is over. 

One last thing in the language train of thought. 

I will never speak or think in English the same way I did before arriving in Chile. 

That's it. That's the whole thought. But it's kinda crazy right? 

For now, I will bid you ado but I hope to write some more this weekend!

If you're reading this, please know I miss you.

Much love always,

Anna

Chilean Rodeo

 

Vacation summary featuring Chilean Rodeo, my friend Angela, and the biggest shopping mall I've ever been to

Howdy, howdy, howdy, from the narrowest country in the world. 

I hope all is well in North America and I look forward to being back with all of you in a little less than 10 months, however in the meantime I have a few things to fill you in on.

I have been on vacation this past week because in Chile September 18th is their Independence Day. The whole week is reserved to celebrate "Fiestas Patrias" which translates loosely to "Homeland Holidays". 

I'm not gonna lie, I did a lot of sitting around in the restaurant this week. 

After my two "juntas" and other events of last weekend, Monday - Wednesday was pretty laid back. I did a lot of reading and journaling on the porch of the restaurant and helped out when I could. 

Honestly though, the most helpful I can be is by staying out of the way because I really don't understand a lot of what is happening in the restaurant. However I know the only way to learn is to watch and listen so I try to pop in when I can and help Abuela with small tasks. 

That being said, on Wednesday afternoon I got an invitation to my friend Angela's family party that was happening just across the road because that is where her uncle lives. Angela's family is hosting one of the short-term foreign exchange students from South Africa, Maya. 

I mentioned her in one of my other blog posts. Angela thought it might be nice for Maya to have someone who spoke English at the party, and also we are decently good friends so I'd like to think she invited me because she liked me too but I can only speculate. 

When I got there, Angela's family was so welcoming and I actually already knew her sister because she was at Augustina's "junta" so that was good. We really just hung out and drank some soda and chatted. Her uncle had some horses that people were taking turns riding, but they really weren't that well behaved so when he asked if I wanted to ride one, I politely declined. 

That seemed like an unnecessary risk that would put my exchange student health insurance to the test, and I didn't think I needed to be figuring out the Chilean hospitals this early in my year. Preferably, I will never learn about them.

I actually didn't spend that much time with Maya because some of her other friends from South Africa were there, so they all hung out on the fringes of the party and made their own fun, which was fine. It did put into perspective for me though that maybe I'm doing okay as far as being a foreign exchange student goes. By simply being present and trying to engage with the language, culture, and people around me, I was already miles ahead of these other girls. 

I would like to clarify, that is not a slight to Maya or her friends at all. They are with a different program that prioritizes different things, and they are also only here for 3 weeks so that changes the approach as well. Furthermore, they are 15 which is a decent amount younger than me, so it totally makes sense that they are going to retreat into social circles that are comfortable. 

As the night progressed, we ate some snacks and had cake for Angela's great-grandfather's birthday. He turned 92 on Wednesday, so everyone wishes him a happy belated birthday from wherever you are. The cake was delicious, I am really starting to love the Chilean treats. 

After food was when the dancing commenced. It started with the cueca, which you already know I loved. Angela's cousin is actually really good at dancing the cueca, and he partnered up first with her mom and then with her aunt and then later me!

He was a really good teacher, and I think I did a lot better than the first time I tried to learn so that's a win. I also did some other fun dances with her family. Angela's relatives are actually from the northern part of Chile, which is mostly desert and coastline, so they had some traditional dances that I hadn't seen before, but they were very eager to show me and I loved every second. Every time I participated her family was so excited and welcoming, which made it really easy to put myself out there. I adore that about Chilean people. 

A few notable characters that I haven't mentioned yet, Angela's little cousin Thomas, her uncle/dad (I'm not really sure, sometimes that stuff gets said too quickly and I miss it, apologies), who's name I could say to you but can't fathom how to spell it and her other cousin Amanda. 

Thomas can't be older than 7, and he is taking English classes outside of school, so his family was very eager to have him speak to me in English. It was super sweet, and he loved showing me photos of his trip to Disneyland and asking me silly questions. I responded in Spanish because it's honestly just easier if I don't switch in and out of languages when I speak but he didn't seem to mind. He got tired at the end of the night and had to go to bed early, but I'd like to think I made a new friend. 

Angela's uncle/dad was just super nice and was super excited that I was from the U.S. He also spoke a little bit of English and was practicing with me and asked me loads of questions. He just seemed so excited that I was there, which made me feel really welcome. I think he may have invited me to go with them up north to their other house during the summer? I'm not entirely sure how serious he was though, so we shall see how that pans out. I would love to go though if the opportunity presented itself. 

Finally, Amanda. I could tell right away that she was a smart cookie. She is the same age as me and is going to head to university soon, but is very knowledgeable on the United States and college, and honestly just life in general. I think she may have looked into studying in the U.S at some point because when I mentioned Cornell her eyes lit up and she was very curious.

Overall, a lovely family and a lovely event. Angela, if you ever see this, thank you so much for welcoming me into your group of people. 

Now, Thursday is the 18th of September. The big day had finally arrived. And I had no plans. No worries, I read some more and helped Abuela and ate a big lunch with the family and we watched a soccer game that night after "once". Overall a solid day, but when I went to say goodnight and head to bed around 10:30, Gonzalo said to me 

"Oh Anna, by the way, we are going to a "fonda" around midnight. We thought you might want to join. There will be food and lots of dancing!"

(A "fonda" is like a Chilean fair/ barn dance/ traditional party kinda thing. I'm honestly not even really sure how to translate it. Just know it's a type of traditional party that happens during the week of the 18th)

I'm sure this came up in conversation earlier in the day, I just hadn't picked up on it, but of course I was going to go. 

So I took a power nap from 10:30 to 11:15 and off we went. 

Isaac and Sara came with us and boy was it quite the adventure. This particular "fonda" was in the same location as the local rodeo (don't worry, I'll get to that in a minute) and was the Chilean version of rural, country barn dance. We stayed for about 2 hours and did lots of dancing (yes of course the cueca was included, you already know I loved it) 

I even got asked to dance by a boy! 

Don't worry, it was very innocent. Some of Sara's family was there and I think they are also our neighbors because I saw them around Rauten the next few days. 

Anyway, she has a younger cousin named Javier who was very nice, and I suspect as a favor to Sara, asked me to dance. Cute kid, with a big braces smile, shaggy hair, and definitely a few years younger than me. It was super fun, and he had some very impressive moves. I only stepped on his toes like twice, so I'd say that was a success. 

On the way home, Isaac and Sara had definitely had a few drinks because they were extra smiley and goofy. They were asking me all kinds of silly questions about the U.S and about English. It was super sweet, and everyone was laughing so hard. I'm so lucky to have them as part of my host family. 

When we got home, it was close to 2:30 am, and I crashed hard. 

The next day, Friday, I slept in a little bit and then Isaac and Sara showed back up to take me to the rodeo which was a really cool experience. 

Chilean rodeo is very different from what I am used to. There is only one event, and it consists of a pair of cowboys/cowgirls on horseback, coraling and stopping a heifer in various locations. The point system is based on how they manage to halt the cattle and the pair with the most points wins. 

A few other differences I noticed, other than the actual event itself, the horses are very different from what I am used to and the Chilean cowboy get up is very distinct. 

Starting with the horses, they are shorter, stockier, and are trained to have a sideways gait that helps them push heifers to a stop. I'm not proficient in horse judging, but I would also say that for the most part this breed had a natural indentation in the center of their back, with their rump coming up distinctly higher.

 I asked Isaac what the name of the  breed was and he simply said Chilean. Believe it or not, that is an official breed. Google them if you are interested in a legitimate visual. 

As for the Chilean cowboy gitup, they wear dress pants, a button up, a poncho, boots with big spurs, and a flat topped hat that is similar to a cowboy hat but not quite. I took a few pictures so make sure to check those out. 

Now, the final event of vacation. I went to Santiago shopping with Isaac and Sara!

When I tell you this was the biggest mall I have ever seen I mean it. It was also filled with people. It's actually super cool because in Chile, it is still a really popular thing to go to the mall, unlike the U.S where it is more popular to shop online. 

We went to the Adidas store, poked around for a camera for Sara, got some lunch, went to a bookstore ( the bookstore was so so so amazing. I felt so at home.) and even went to a different market place across the street called the MUT, which stands for "Mercado Urbano Tobalaba". Essentially it was this building filled with smaller shops and food options with less name brands. I really liked it. I got some ice cream there, and it was delicious (not as good as Battenkill Valley Creamery, but a girl can only ask for so much).

On the way home we got to see the sun set over the Andes and we listened to some fun music. 

I think it's safe to say the week was filled with some epic adventures. 

Much love always,

Anna