Style Observations

I admit it. I notice clothes. I notice clothes on people in the US and I really notice clothes on people here. Some people, I look at the clothes and shoes they wear and think "they look like me." But others, not so much. Here are a few of the new styles I have seen on women. Is this what the young women are wearing in the US and I just didn't know it?

These are interestingly called Harem Pants

I think these are called gladiator shoes or something. Don't they look hot (temperature I mean)?

Imagine the combination of harem pants and gladiator shoes. I want to adapt to the culture here but I am not so sure about this style. I might just stick to my capris (called pescadores) and chacos.

Chao for now!

My Head is Spinning

One week of Spanish school down, three to go. Wow. This week was as crazy or crazier than I expected. Nine hours of school with an hour commute on either end plus homework every night makes for a long long day. My head is seriously spinning with new words and conjugations as I go to bed each night. By the end of the week I felt like I could not speak Spanish or English anymore. I have been thankful for this Saturday to have a day of rest and not studying.

Team photo on the first day

Despite how difficult school is I am thankful to be in it and am very impressed with our experience so far. Our teachers are excellent and have been in this business for years, some more than 20. They are good at balancing serious study with breaks for laughter, learning funny things and enjoying a scoop of ice cream after lunch.

During a pausa (break) at school.

I am in a class with just Sara and we are at level 5 of 10. I am a low level 5 but I am making do and learning a lot. We have one teacher between the two of us so we get a lot of time to speak, read and listen. This first week was a review of much of the grammar I have learned before and being exposed to hundreds and hundreds of new vocab words. Why do we need so many words to get along? I think we are being excessive. :)

Enjoying a frap at Starbucks. After working at Starbucks I never wanted to go there but it is amazing how much of a difference a little taste of home can make me feel, especially when its dang hot outside.

We also go out to lunch with a teacher every day and this cost is included in the price of our tuition. This is a chance for us to chat casually and and relax a little. We have a budget that is easy to stay within so most days we stop by and get ice cream or a frap on our way back to class. It is becoming a bad habit but it is so good. I love ice cream here.

At the market last week enjoying some free fruit that later made me sick. I learned my lesson.

Besides school, this week we have had a little team time, I recovered from some contaminated fruit and a bad fall, we have become experts at our public transportation route and I have gotten to walk around the neighborhood some and see what is out there. I took today off from studying Spanish and did some skyping with friends and family, did some laundry, and went to see a possible apartment. I am planning to live at Casa Isabel through most of February but that is going to come soon so I am trying to find a furnished apartment. I felt good about the one I saw today so we will see how that plays out.

I fell last week while walking down the street and really banged up my knee. Isabel doctored me since I had nothing. Please notice the leaves on my leg. :)

I feel like so much has happened this week that I could write for hours but I think for now I must say goodnight.

Chao from Chile.

PS- Please forgive any spelling mistakes. My computer knows I am in Chile so it checks it for Spanish misspellings which is pretty much everything. I dont feel like editing.

The Calm Before the Storm

I am sitting in my Chilean house right now as a cool morning breeze blows through my window, listening to the hum of traffic that never ceases. It is a peaceful, quiet morning here at Casa Isabel (lady I'm staying with) and I am excited about my day of visiting a feria (market) and joining my teammates and amigos from church for an assado later in the afternoon. What a perfect Saturday.

My room

This peaceful quiet is quite the opposite of what is to start on Monday so I wanted to get a blog post in before things get crazy. On Monday we start language immersion classes. This means Spanish class from 9am-6pm where even lunch and breaks are supposed to be in Spanish. Then I come home to Casa Isabel and speak more Spanish and do it all again the next day.

This is the way we have chosen to learn Spanish and in the end it will be worth it but it will not be easy. Despite the anticipated difficulty I am looking forward to it. I have learned a lot of Spanish just being here for one week, not in class, so I am excited to progress even further.

My first week here in Chile has been a wonderful one. Most nights I crash because I am so worn out for the language learning and just how much we cram into one day, trying to get things done before school starts. I have ridden the bus many times and can now get from school and church and the city to my house with no problem. I even survived rush hour in hot, non- AC public transportation and I came out alive.

My Bip! card for public transportation

I have eaten an uncountable number of paltas (avocados), drank numerous cups of coffee, had lots of delicious empanadas and am still on the hunt for the best ice cream ever. Yum. Thank goodness I am also walking a lot everyday. Amazingly, I have also had Mexican food. Who knew we could find a Mexican food restaurant in Chile!

Mexican food!

Drinking cortados

I have bought a pre-paid cell phone (they won't give us plans w/o visas) and have even had a few successful phone calls with Chileans. I always felt triumphant because it is hard to talk on the phone in another language.

We all have cellphones

I will end with this story and video. Our first real Chilean friend, Alejandro, took us to an art exhibit where art is projected onto the river that runs downtown. We heard this explination and were like "huh?" but then when we saw it, I realized that is as accurate of a description as you can give. It is art projected onto the river. Now this art is not like a paiting of Van Gogh but more like graffiti type art and the pictures were huge, maybe almost half a football field big. It was quite impressive and appears that this is the first time this form of art has ever been done in the world. I really enjoyed it and was thankful to Alejandro for taking us.



Until the next time I have a chance to blog, nos vemos!

Important Research

In honor of my brother who always asks...

First Days

My first two days in Chile have been pretty surreal. Ellen asked me when we got on the plane in Miami "do you feel like we are moving?" I said, "No, I don't really know what I feel." So much effort has been put to getting to Chile and now here we are. Really all I can do is take it one day at a time, slowly adjust and just take it all in. I could easily become sad, overwhelmed or excited at any moment. Really I just feel thankful and blessed by all the support and prayers from home and from all the help we are receiving here. The missionaries in Santiago are making our move here so much more smooth.

Miami airport, happy face.

On the plane, stressed faces. We strongly dislike the Miami airport, but we made it!

We have already eaten lots of good food, seen some beautiful places around the city, taken an evening stroll, visited Jumbo (grocery store) and talked a lot. I feel like I am already learning Spanish and culture but even more I am learning how much their is to learn. I think moving in with host families next week will be invaluable for learning and I am looking forward to that.

They have cream of chicken and cream of mushroom soup! These are so important for many recipes and I did not expect to find them.

Excited about my hairdryer purchase. Very important.

Other ladies excited about their purchases as well. It was a successful first Jumbo trip. There will be many more to come.

The weather here is beautiful. It is summer time and the sun is warm, the sky is clear and the pollution is low enough that I can even see the Andes. Amazing! They are so huge! I have missed having mountains in my back yard. The homes do not have central air or heat but with the windows open, it is quite pleasant. In Texas we would be dying.

Eating empanadas at the feria (market). I could get used to this.

Enjoying the summer weather

Chile Welcomes Team Conce

We are landed in Chile! I am too tired to go into the details of the trip but it went as smooth as international travel with 5 pieces of luggage and a plane change can go. Praise God. Thanks for all your thoughts and prayers. Keep them coming as we recover from travel and a night with little sleep and adjusting to our home city for the next 6 months. More posts to come.

Peace.

Today's The Day

Today I head down South. Today I leave for Chile. Can you believe it is finally here? On one hand it seems like today would never come but it also feels like it has come so fast. I am excited and scared and nervous all at the same time. We have been working so hard to come to this and now it has. God have mercy.

I had a wonderful Christmas holiday with my friends and family and it was a perfect way to send me off. I am so blessed and that is what I am focused on as I leave today. I have wondered what today would be like many many times, how I would feel, how I would act, what would happen and now it is finally happening. It's going ok. I feel very sad and very nervous but I am going. It may be stressful and tiring for a while but I can handle it.

I fit most of my important belongings in 5 suitcases

What I do know is that God has been faithful. I was fearful that I would experience a lot of anxiety this day and the days prior, but God has provided me (and those close to me) with peace that I know could only come from him and I give him the glory for this.

Driving to DFW to fly out the day before

Please pray that this peace continues and that is reaches to my teammates and all our families. This is what we want to do and where we want to go but that does not make leaving easy.

Spent the evening with the BFF- I gave her my scarf I have been working on for 2 years and she gave me a cute bracelet