Nearing the End of January

  Hello, hello, hello lovely people of New York. 

I sincerely hope that everyone has been staying safe from the cold because from what I hear January thus far has been quite the force to be reckoned with. 

As for me, I have a few brief updates. 

A few nights ago, I went with my host family to dinner in a coastal town called Maitencillo to get dinner and celebrate the birthday of my host dad. I ate a really delicious meal of some type of fish (I'm sorry, I don't remember the name) with a side of creamy rice that also had shrimp in it. It was to die for. 

My host brothers also ordered me a fun little mocktail which was very delicious and very pretty so make sure to check out the picture that I posted. 

It was a fun time and I love going on car rides to different cities. This is very American of me but I miss car rides and road trips SO MUCH. I genuinely cannot wait to come home and go on a car ride with the windows down, blaring music, and have a far away destination in my mind's eye. 

A few days after that I went on a fun little outing with my Chilean friend group from school. We went to the supermarket to get some pizza's that cook in five minutes and taste like the cardboard they came in but are too convenient not to purchase. We also all brought different little treats to share and crashed at my friend Sebastian's house to play some board games for a few hours. Obviously I love hanging out with them because they're a good group and I like being social, but my friend group is also a constant test of how fast I can think and speak in Spanish. Chilean teenagers whip through Spanish like nobody's business so I'm always hanging on for dear life. 

I'm recapping a lot at once here I apologize. The past week or so has been a weird mind trick of time and I've had lots going on and also nothing going on at the same time, so I am very grateful for your patience with this blog post. 

On Monday this week I went out to a cute little cafe with two of the girls who work for my host family, Anto and Cynthia. I always like to chat them up at the end of the day or during their lunch break so they were kind enough to invite me out. It worked perfectly because Cynthia actually lives right across the road from my host family's house, so I was able to ride to and from Quillota with her. I tried a Chilean lemon pie for the first time, which according to my Instagram feed is mandatory to try if you're spending any amount of time in Chile. It was heavenly, but I really am not a picky enough eater to be the best judge because Anto and Cynthia said that they have tried better. I guess that just means I'll have to eat some more lemon pie. What a bummer...

After that little excursion, Cynthia invited me to come over to her side of the street on Wednesday afternoon to have lunch with her since it was her day off. I went over and we ate some pasta and salad, and chatted for a while. Then we decided to walk to the mini market just down the street to buy some goodies to make pancakes. We spent the afternoon cooking and talking some more, and then sat down to eat some delicious pancakes topped with fruit, dulce de leche (or manjar (mahn-har) as they say in Chile), and some homemade whipped cream. It was fun and I think we might go to the plaza sometime again together which I would enjoy very much. 

Then just yesterday I went out with Seba and Ornella to Viña del Mar to stop by the mall and go to the beach. We ate a yummy lunch at this place called Domino's, which is interestingly not a pizza place, and then returned a cologne that Seba had bought but decided he wanted to buy the bigger bottle of. We also just bopped around the stores, stopped at Starbucks, and I did end up buying this super cute fleece pullover from this Chilean hiking store. Did I need it? Not really, but it was on sale and Ornella and Seba are very persuasive. 

After the mall we went over to the beach in Reñaca, which is essentially the fancier part of Viña where all of the people with lots of money go. Orne and Seba played some version of tennis with different rackets on the beach because they are both really into that and I sat and cheered them on from the blanket. We went in the water for a little bit, munched on some snacks, and just goofed around before cruising on home blasting some tunes. I put up some photos so make sure to go and check those out. 

Today I'm back at home, trying to catch up on some college preparation things (the FAFSA process sucks no matter what country you are in) and attempting to finish my first book in Spanish. 

One last little thought, is it crazy to anyone else that it is almost the end of January? Sometimes I feel like I just got to Chile a few weeks ago and then I look back and think, holy smokes. We're doing this and we are more than halfway through now. I am nearing the 5 month mark of my exchange and that genuinely blows my mind. I still miss all of you so much and please know I mean that from the bottom of my heart. I'll be home before we know it, truly.

Stay safe out there with the crazy New York weather we have been having. 

Lots of love always, 

Anna