Rock Climbing and New Year's

Guys I went out of the house two days in a row. It was actually crazy. 

Anna before Chile is mocking me because I don't know if I ever had two days back to back to rest when I was at home but now going out for two days straight is literally something worth writing about. 

On Tuesday I went to Viña del Mar to hang out with some of my exchange student friends, Xavier and Killian. Xavier is from the U.S. and actually lives about 2.5 hours from Salem in New Hampshire. Killian is from Germany which is a lot farther away, but we still get along pretty great. 

I took the bus and the train by myself to get to Viña this time around and felt very accomplished. Gonzy, my host brother, explained the whole system to me which was so helpful. I kid you not, he pulled out maps the day before at lunch and broke everything down step by step which sounds excessive but I am so grateful he did because I felt a lot better about traveling by myself in Chile. 

Anyway, when I was on the train there were these two sharply dressed young men, one more Latino looking and the other potentially could have been from the U.S.

Being the country bumpkin I am, I gave them both a smile and a nod when I sat down and didn't think anything more of it. 

However, we all got off in Viña together and when I walked about of the train station to wait for Killian and Xavier to find me, they tentatively approached me and said, 

"Hi, excuse me, but are you from Chile?" 

I laughed a little bit and said no, I'm from the United States. 

They both grinned big and said "Oh my goodness, that's so awesome. We are missionaries from California and Brazil and we felt something pulling us to talk to you"

We chatted for a little while longer and they complimented my Spanish, which I tried not to let go to my head but it still felt good. We swapped WhatsApp information and who knows, maybe I will see them again sometime. 

The cherry on top of that whole story though is that Killian came up to me just as the missionary guys were walking away and goes,

"Anna, why the heck were you talking to those guys in fancy suits?" 

I laughed again and briefly explained, and by then Xavier showed up and we started walking to our morning mission: Rock Climbing aka Bouldering because Xavier corrected me and said it wasn't technically rock climbing but whatever. Rock climbing sounds cooler. 

Basically, we went to this place that had rock walls with different circuits you could do, but none of them were high enough that you needed a harness. They just had thick mats on the floor so if you fell you wouldn't get hurt. It cost about 8 bucks in total for the entrance fee and to rent the special shoes, which for 3 broke foreign exchange students is a pretty good deal. 

We climbed a bunch of different circuits, the boys being a little more adventurous than me, but I still tried quite a few. We also made friends with a guy named Joaquin or Jaccs for short. He knew a lot about bouldering and gave us all kinds of pointers which was super sweet. I think it made him happy that he could practice his English with us, which I felt a little awkward about because I am just so used to speaking Spanish when I am in a Spanish environment but a group of 3 foreign exchange students sticks out like a sore thumb so I didn't really have a choice. 

We stayed at the bouldering place until 12:30-1:00pm ish and then walked to Killian's apartment so he could grab his swim suit in case we went to the beach later. He has the sweetest host sister, and even though I only met her for 10 minutes, I can tell we would get along. 

After that we went to get lunch and decided on an Arabic place and I tried shawarma and stuffed grape leaves for the first time. Both were 10/10, I highly recommend. 

Next we walked to the floral clock that is a famous little spot in Viña and I made the boys take pictures, even though they complained about it. Xavier likes to pick on me and call me a soccer mom, to which I normally make a face but I can't exactly disagree with him because he's not wrong. Oh well. I've accepted my fate. 

Next we cruised on over to the beach and bought ice cream and then sat and chatted for a while. It was getting close to the time I thought Gonzy was going to be done with his doctor appointment, so when Killian and Xavier decided to go swimming, I just went up to my knees because I didn't want to be caught off guard if Gonzalo texted and was ready to go.

Turns out he had a whole other hour of waiting so once the boys got done hopping waves, we walked over to the mall to check out hiking boots because I need a pair for the Patagonia trip we will be going on in March and to buy smoothies. Xavier knows a decent amount about hiking and things so I trusted his judgement, and although I didn't end up buying anything because Gonzy was ready to pick me up, I feel better that I consulted him before that purchase. 

On the ride home I had a good chat with Gonzy. He's been on medical leave from work lately because he hurt his shoulder, and selfishly I've been really enjoying it because it gives me someone to hang out with everyone now and then. He doesn't make me feel stupid or like an inconvenience when I ask questions and I feel comfortable going to him if I need something but don't want to bother Claudia or Gonzalo. That's not to say that I feel stupid or like an inconvenience when I talk to anyone else in my host family, because they are all truly so lovely. It's just been nice to lean on Gonzy a little extra lately. 

The next day I took the bus and train again to go to Quilpué which is the city where my friend Tarek lives. He is the boy who went on an exchange to the U.S. last year in Colorado and now is back in Chile. 

For New Year's Eve I went with his family to Viña again to eat some food at his grandmother's apartment and then walk to the beach to watch the big fireworks show that they do in Viña every year. It's actually one of the biggest firework displays in all of Latin America and people come from all over to watch. It was a bit of a bummer that it was really cloudy so we couldn't see super good but at least I can say that we went. 

When we got done with the fireworks show it was about 1am and we started heading back to Tarek's house because his mom had a flight to catch in the morning. We arrived just before 2am and I was able to call and chat with my family a little bit to wish them a happy New Year which was nice. After that I went to sleep. 

I hung out with Tarek for most of the next day, just chatting and enjoying each other's company before heading home after lunch. I hope I didn't overstay my welcome, I don't think I did but that is the kind of thing my brain likes to torture me about after having a fun time with someone. 

Anyway, that's the recap of the past few days. A couple other fun details are that I have officially been in Chile for 4 months now. A little less than halfway done with my exchange, which feels pretty crazy. Also, I bought some yarn and a crochet hook so I am going to try to dive back into that hobby while I have free time here in Chile. Oh and finally, today is Isaac's birthday and I think we are going out to dinner at a Peruvian restaurant so I may have some fun things to say about that in the next blog post. Check back in to see how it goes :)

Much love always, 

Anna 

Me with Tarek's family, minus his sister who took the picture

 

Tarek and I taken by his sister, Ami

 

Viña del Mar from the window of Tarek's grandma's apartment

 

Me at the floral clock in Viña

 

New Christmas Traditions

 Merry Christmas everyone! 

These past few days I have been spending time with my host family trying to soak up some new holiday traditions to bring back to the United States. Although it was hard being away from my New York family during this season, I did enjoy my Chilean Christmas very much. 

I saw a meme the other day on the internet that said "Latinos are late for everything, except for Christmas" which obviously is a very broad generalization, but I genuinely feel like most Chilean's at least would agree with this statement. Because get this, in Chile we open all the presents at midnight on Christmas morning, and not one minute later. 

But I'm getting ahead of myself now. Let's start at the beginning. 

In Chile they celebrate Christmas the most on Christmas Eve or "La Noche Buena" which translates to "The Good Night". There is traditionally a large Christmas dinner, just like in the U.S. but we eat much later. My entire host family was there for Christmas Eve dinner, my brothers, parents, Abuela and Isaac's girlfriend Sara who is basically my host sister, and when we all finally sat down it was probably 10:30-11:00pm. 

 As an appetizer we had stuffed tomatoes which were carved out and then filled with a blend of corn, chicken, and mayonnaise. I asked Claudia afterwards and apparently you can make this particular dish with basically anything you'd like. You can use tuna, lettuce, onion, avocado, in essentially any combination you can think of. 

For the main course we had a delicious cut of salmon with "papas duquesas" which translates to "duchess potatoes". They are really just little fun potato balls, but apparently very traditional around Christmastime. 

For dessert, Sara made this delicious strawberry jam, custard, and crisp layered cake that we each got our own little cup of. It was heavenly. It addition to that, we all drank "cola de mono" which translates to "tail of the monkey" and is a type of Chilean Christmas punch, similar to eggnog. I obviously drank the non-alcoholic version, but it was still very tasty. 

After that we all gathered around to exchange gifts. Isaac narrated and picked out gifts from under the tree, distributing them to the person whose name was written on the tag and then we would all whoop and cheer as they opened it up. It was all very sweet and the Christmas presents I bought for my host family went over fairly well I think. At the very least, I tried my best to get a little something thoughtful for everyone and that message came across which is a win in my book. 

My host family also got me some really thoughtful gifts that I am so grateful for. I got a cute rain jacket that will definitely be coming with me to Patagonia and Cornell, a few t-shirts, a pair of slippers for the house, and a Spanish book written by a well known Chilean author. 

After that we all went to sleep and it was about 1:30 in the morning. Before I went to bed though, I made sure to thank Claudia for making me feel so included in her family and I gave her a big hug. Normally I’m not too sappy, so I think it threw her for a loop a little bit, but I really wanted her to know just how grateful I was that they made me feel so welcomed on Christmas. 

On the actual day of December 25th, we really didn't do anything too different from any other day which messed with me a little bit. My family always opens presents on Christmas morning, we have a big huge breakfast and then hang out for a bit before venturing out to visit some of our family members. 

Here in Chile, the water park and restaurant were absolutely swamped on Christmas day, so I just hung out with Abuela in the restaurant for the most part. I called my family and chatted with them which was really nice. I even surprised them and sent them a little Christmas basket which I hope they enjoyed. It was still weird though to be so far away from home, in 80 degree weather, on Christmas. 

I suppose I can survive anything once, but I am definitely excited at the idea of being back home for next Christmas. 

The only other interesting thing I have to report is that I went to a very nice Rotary luncheon yesterday to celebrate Christmas with the Quillota club. It was veryyyyy fancy but very delicious. I sat and chatted with Tarek for the most part because we were the only two there under the age of 55. I think that we get along really well and I am grateful for his friendship. 

We are actually working on hanging out together for New Years to go see some fireworks on the beach, so stay tuned for that adventure! 

As always, sending lots of love home to New York. Please take this time of year to enjoy friends, family, and good food. I say this mostly for myself, but I will be home before we know it :)

Yours truly, 

Anna