adjustments

the other day i was swaying along on the micro with the crowds of people headed to work and school and i realized something: people weren't staring at me anymore. maybe the "GRINGA" written on my forehead in invisible ink has washed off. a better guess is that i no longer sport the wide-eyed look of confusion and public transportation-induced tension. two people even assumed that i was chilean...

but that was before i had opened my mouth. my cockiness (and mediocre chilena disguise) wears off as soon as i start to talk. i've gotten much better at using more than one verb tense (thank god) but i desperately wish i knew what was happening around me a little more frequently. my vocabulary is limited to pretty much food, basic adjectives, and verbs pertaining to transportation, school and purchases. this is really frustrating sometimes, because i want to talk to my host mom about her life and her opinions about politics and health care in chile, but it requires a lot of sitting and waiting for google to translate our thoughts. today i was thinking about my frustration and it actually reminded me of an activity that maricarmen (the AMAZING director of IES) made us do on the second day. she made us write "i feel frustrated about my level of spanish" on a piece of paper, then tear up the sheet and throw it away. as doofy as it sounds, i feel like it actually helped, and remembering it today even made me feel a little better. after two and a half weeks, i barely have to rely on charades anymore (whereas when i got here i could barely form the words "no, i don't speak spanish" to the guy in customs). my abilities will continue to improve and i am so excited for that.

also, if you are interested in reading my OTHER chile blog, the one i write in weekly to fulfill my scholarship requirements, you can go here. several other students are contributing as well, so there is an interesting mix of perspectives (although we all have the same photos of us cheesin' at the camera). okay, northwestern plug complete.

i'm looking forward to the long weekend we have coming up. even though i'm not going to pucon with most of the other people on the trip, isla negra (one of pablo neruda's three houses) and possibly even valparaiso (fingers crossed) are in my future. to top it all off, my host mom's birthday is this weekend! i have to make her a card...preferably one that incorporates catita's insanity. on top of that, our first clinical observation is tomorrow morning!

lists

since this is my first post (i know, lazy) and it also happens to be the fourth of july, i thought i would do my best to talk about my experiences in chile thus far as well as reminisce fondly about all of the american things i miss so much.

things i love about chile

• my host family
• my host cat...most of the time

iz be a ninja

• bread and bakeries galore
• the chilean sweet tooth - the other day i was watching the news and a segment came on about how argentinian bakeries and candy shops were preparing for the massive influx of chilenos for copa america.
• watching the news and who wants to be a millionaire chile edition
• on that note, the fact that this song played (totally unedited) in the background of a clip that was on the national news. (parents, relatives and all others with potentially sensitive ears...you have been warned.)
• la cordillera

• how politically active young people are.
• the fact that people can be packed like sardines onto the metro cars (think the red line five minutes after a cubs game only worse, every single day is like that, and everyone is sober), but people are really chill(e! hahah) about it. if this were chicago everyone would be getting pissy and trying to shove themselves away from the dude with the "homicide" tattoo on his neck. no one is creepy or anything and they all say "permiso" before they shove themselves through the crowded masses.
• valparaiso, the ocean, and the street art all over the walls.

things i miss about 'murrca

• my family, david, and my amazing friends.
• the aspartamey taste of USA's diet coke
• spicy food
• recycling bins
• knowing what was going on around me all the time.
• things starting on time! i am not early because it is a cultural/american thing, i am early to things because i am anal retentive and very much enjoy being early. sigh.
• everything about summer (except for withering in the oppressive heat): shorts and sandals, swimming, lots of daylight, weekend adventures in the city with david, eating outside, lake michigan, and lightning bugs.

okay, i realize that this was not a particularly substantive post but i have an exam tomorrow sooooo copout. but i will post more pictures and that sort of thing later.

edit: and an additional list, in honor of catita (my homestay cat).

ways in which cats can interfere with your homework

• steal your pen
• after stealing said pen, fling it across the room so you have to hunt for it underneath the laundry rack
• sit on your reading
• sit on your keyboard and type nonsense words into google translate

it is no surprise i have made zero progress on this spanish presentation.