God is so wonderful! For those of you that are not believers I am not trying to sound preachy with this blog, just for me God is a huge part of my life and I want to share what He has been doing in my life through this trip.

One thing that travelling abroad does is that it takes you out of your comfort zone. Moving to Chile for me was a BIG step out of my comfort zone. Believe it or not I am a homebody. While I really enjoy traveling it is hard for me to be away from home for a long time and this trip will be the most I have ever been away from my family. My family and friends are really important to me and I really treasure being close to them and being in contact with them a lot. Going to Chile for six months means that I am "missing" a lot of events and happenings in my family and friends' lives. Six months is one eigth of your college life, a lot of things happen in one semester.

Through this trip God has been teaching me to completely trust Him. I have really had to trust God that this trip is what He wants for me and that everything will stay under control while I am gone. I trust God that He will watch over my family, boyfriend, and friends while I am gone. I trust God that even if some of my friends move on without me the friends who still stand by while I am gone and when I get back are truly the friends that God has put in my life for a purpose. It says in Jeremiah 29:11, "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." I truly believe that God has a plan for me on this trip and that he is leading my path. God has already blessed me so much by giving me a wonderful, supportive and loving host family. He also has put three wonderful Christian girls in my path that I am now very close with. Not only am I blessed by the people here but also by all the people at home who are praying for me. My parents, sister, grandparents, and extended family have been wonderful cheerleaders throughout the whole application process and then the process of getting adjusted to my new life. God also has blessed me with a wonderful boyfriend who has been so supportive of me. While other guys might laugh while I am crying at the airport he stood right beside me and said "You are a strong woman who does wonderful wherever she is, I am so proud of you!" And then there are the many friends who keep updating me on life back at college and in the States so I don't feel like I'm missing anything.

Not only has this trip taught me how to trust God and shown me how blessed I am but it also has helped me become closer to God. I have found myself diving into God's word for comfort when I am homesick. I am constantly yearning to become closer to God, I can not get enough of Him! The Church services that I have been attending have been showing me what it means to be more like God and what I need to do to get there. God has been challenging me to look at my life and figure out who I really am, what I really want to do with my life but ultimately, what HE wants me to do with my life. God is opening my eyes to life plans that He seems to be concocting for me that I never would have thought about.

Every day I am reminded about how powerful and wonderful God is in some different way. It might be the sunset, or sitting and talking with a new friend who shares that she has been praying since the spring to find a Christian friend while in Chile, (aka, she'd been praying for me before we even knew each other!) or it might be after being protected from weirdos while out walking no matter what I know that God is with me at all times and is looking out for me! I thank him for this opportunity to take me out of my comfort zone so that I can become even closer and more like Him!

Hola a todos! I am so sorry that I haven't posted in so long. Life has really taken off here :) Classes are in full swing as is my social schedule! The first couple of weeks were especially hard for me because I had not found a good group of friends yet. I was very blessed last week when I met a girl named Jessie who is the "hija" of my Chilean mom's best friend. Not only did I meet Jessie but I also met Pam and Jocelyn we have all been hanging out a lot and going to Church together. I was really concerned at first that I was not going to find a group of down to earth people like me because at first it seemed like almost all of the students just really wanted to go out and party. While I enjoy going out with friends I do not like doing it every night or going crazy like the other students enjoy doing. Jessie, Pam, and Jocelyn are really nice down to earth Christian girls who like to have fun but for us to have fun we do not neccesarily need to go out and do something or have alcohol involved! The past couple of days we have gone to our Church's youth group and hung out with some Chilean university students, hung out at the beach, and watched movies together. We are already starting to plan trips together also which is amazing!

Life in general has been getting easier here. I am getting to be a lot more comfortable with the language so I am more adventurous about going out and doing things on my own or talking with Chileans. I think this weekend I might go to Santiago with Jocelyn since my last class on Friday is cancelled!

Talking about classes, my classes are going very well. I am really enjoying my different topics. I am taking Literatura Espanola 2 which is Antigua Espanol literature such as Don Quixote. This is going to be my hardest class I think since the books are written in old spanish. Another one of my classes is a Latin American and Chilean short story class which is really really interesting. We read short stories and them analyze them from a historic and literary viewpoint. I have a grammar class which is pretty interesting even though I am not a huge fan of grammar. My teacher is pretty awesome, think Jack Black in School of Rock. I am taking two history classes, one is History of America Latina in Siglo XX which will be a lot of work but fun. My other class is a history and film class where we watch film clips and then look at them from a historical standpoint. So cool!

The university system here is definitely different then in the US. Classes are much more relaxed here, professors arrive 15-20 minutes late and if a student arrives late it doesn't matter. There is not much homework (at least so far) the most homework that I have is reading for my literature classes. Grades are not based on class participation, homework, essays, and exams such as in the US. Instead, we have 2-4 opportunities to pass the test. Some of my classes have two exams, others have a project and an exam, and some of my others have 4 exams. It makes it a little more stressful for me since I am not awesome at test taking but I think I will be able to pass :)

All in all I am really starting to feel at home here! It is hard to believe that I have been here for almost a month! I am off to have lunch with my mom now and then two more classes this afternoon before I hang out with Pam, Jessie, and Jocelyn!





PS: The picture at the top is of the river and the ocean connecting. We have been stuck between two storm fronts the pass couple of days so the waves have been crazy! The couple in the picture is my mom and dad, Rossy and Freddy. The picture of me and a girl is my sister Francisca and I. The final picture is of Jocelyn, Jessie, and myself! More pictures can be seen on my facebook page :)

Things you should know before visiting Chile

1) Do not put toilet paper in the toilets, it clogs them up and is really embarrasing when they start overflowing. The pipes are too old to be able to handle paper.

2) Get good at jumping off of moving objects before you come because the micros (the busses) do not always actually stop to let you off.

3) Do not plan on being able to dry your hands after washing them, the hand dryers only stay on for about ten seconds.

4) Do not plan on sleeping much, Chileans do not start to go out on the weekends until 11pm when they start pregaming. Clubs do not even open until 1am and close at 5am when the after party starts and does not end until about 8am. Wednesday night is the start of the weekend so expect the pubs, clubs, bars, and discos to be packed!

5) Bring lots of warm clothing if you come in the winter or spring. They do not believe in central heating here so every building is very cold. We have one space heater for our whole apartment!

6) Ladies, forget your razor? Not a problem, not everyone shaves here.

7) Grab toilet paper from the outside of the stall or else you will be stuck high and dry (well not so dry.)

8) Take advantage of the cheap wine that is produced in Chile. It is possible to get a good cheap wine for around $1.

9) A novio or novia is not a boyfriend or girlfriend like in other Spanish speaking countries; it is instead your fiancee. Currently my Chilean mom thinks that I am engaged to my boyfriend. If you want to say boyfriend or girlfriend you use the word "pololo."

10) While the men in Chile definitely are more vocal than men in the US they are much more restrained when whistling or yelling at women then the men in Mexico. Ladies, if you want someone to stop bothering you at a pub, bar, disco, or club all you have to say is "Yo tengo un novio" and they will immedietely back off! In Mexico having a boyfriend does not mean a thing and the men will continue to bother you.

11) Your "Nana" is not your grandmother, she is instead your hired help. Nanas clean the house, does the laundry, cooks, and picks up kids from school if neccesary.

12) Enjoy being in a country where it is possible to buy Cuban products since there is no trade embargo between Chile and Cuba. Chileans love Cuban rum (or run as it is called here.)

13) Even if you speak Spanish do not expect to be able to understand the Chileans immediately. Many "modisimos" or slangs are used which makes it very hard to understand the language.

14) While Chile is half the world away from the United States it is still very possible to get "comfort foods" such as Pizza Hut pizza, tex mex food, Heineken, Dominoes pizza, Subway, McDonalds, Burger King and Dunkin Donut's.

15) Do not plan on buying clothing or toiletry items here since they tend to be quite expensive.

Today was my first day of classes! I was really scared for this day because I was very intimidated by the idea of starting classes at a new university (a very large one in comparison to Roanoke, PUCV=17000 students, Roanoke = 2000 students) let alone the fact that it is in a foreign country where I do not have many friends yet. Add to that the fact that the classes are in my second language and ya...intimidating! I had to get up early this morning because I was supposed to go to the International Students office before class. When I got to the office the secretary was like, "No, you don't need to get anything here" (In Spanish of course!) so I ended up sitting around for close to an hour. University life is not very organized here in Chile, no one really knows anything about what is going on in other parts of the University. Example, for my Spanish Literature class we are supposed to start reading a story "El Abencerraje" which the professor said would be online through our library. After looking for it and talking with countless staff members we found out that none of the libraries in the University has it and that they do not know how we can get it. Needless to say the lack of organization is frustrating to the Americans but just something that we are going to have to get used to.
Both of my classes went well, my Spanish literature class is going to be a stretch but definitely is worth it. My class consists of mostly other Americans so that will be good because then we can all study together. My grammar class is all extranjero (foreign) students and our professor is awesome! He is very sympathetic and amable (nice.) For both of the classes our grades are based completely on three exams but it sounds like the professors really want you to pass so they will work with you to make sure you do okay. I am now back at home at least for a little while. I might go out with some of my amigas later.

Ay! Los pasados dias iban muy locos pero muy buenos. El Viernes mis amigas Heidi, Jess, y yo fuimos a la Jardin Botanico de Vina Del Mar. El viaje al Jardin fue muy complicado y dificil. Tomamos el micro pero perdimos la parada por el Jardin y fue necesario para nosotros a caminar en el lado de la autopisto. Despues cuando nosotros encontramos el calle por el Jardin fue necessario a caminar por cerca de una hora al Jardin. El Jardin fue muy bonita con muchas arboles y flores interesantes. Huberion plantas de todos los partes del mundo. Creo que el Jardin sera muy bonita en la primavera.

Ayer tenia una dia mas o menos libre sin planes. Pero en la manana yo no sentia normal por que yo extranaba mi casa y los Estados Unidos mucho. Hablaba con mi padre por pocos minutos y despues hablaba con Ethan y sentia un poco mejor. Rossy sabia que yo estaba triste y decidia que era necesario para ella y mi a dar un paseo y beber chocolate caliente. Nosotros caminabamos cerca del mar y charlar mucho sobre diferentes cosas. Comiamos en un restauran cerca del mar y bebiamos chocolate caliente para mi, cafe para Rossy y comiamos medialunas (croissants)

En la noche Freddy, Rossy, y yo ibamos a Portamont(sp?) para once con la familia de Freddy. La casa de la hermana de Freddy es muy bonita y tradicional. Portamon es en los montanas e es mas rural. Me gusta porque es rural pero no me gusta porque la area es muy suizia. Yo conoci cuatro de los siete hermanos de Freddy y tambien los esposas y un hijo de una de las hermanas y el papa de Freddy. El tiempo era muy interesante para mi porque me gusta a oir a las discussiones de los Chilenos. Era dificil para mi a entender pero es bueno para mi a acostombrar al accento de los Chilenos.

Mas tarde en la noche yo salgo con mis companeras de clase. Ibamos a un disco se llama Stingray que un monitor ha alquilado por dos horas. Fue divertido, yo probar un piscola que es media vaso de Pisco (el liquor oficial de Chile) y un poco de Coco Cola. No me gusta porque fue tan fuerte para mi pero fue bueno a probar las nuevas cosas. Nosotros bailabamos mucho con los otros americanos y tambien con los Chilenos. Me encanta el baile de los Chilenos porque es una mezcla de los bailes tradicionales incluyendo la salsa y meringue y los bailes nuevos. Cerca a las dos en la manana (muy temprano por los Chileans) Natalie y yo saliamos a nosotros mismos casas. Fue un poco malo porque fue necesario para mi a caminar solo por cerca de cinco bloques porque Natalie no vive muy cerca a mi.

Este manana me desayune con Rossy y despues salia a correr. Corria cerca al mar y era muy bonita. El mar es increible aca especialmente con el sol y cielo azul. En la tarde Ya Ya (mi abuela, la mama de Rossy) llegaba por el almuerzo y nosotros comimos como un familia. Ya Ya es muy amable y carinoso. Cuando ella oido que mi cumple es el mismo de un otro de las nietas ella haciendo planes por una fiesta para la otra nieta y yo y tambien planes por pasteles para nosotros. Gracias a Dios mi familia aqui es increible.

*This is a post that I wrote a couple of days ago (on Sunday) that my computer ate. I just found it though so it's a couple days old but still interesting I hope.

Wow the past couple of days have been crazy. Friday my friends Jess, Heidi and myself went to the Botanical Gardens of Vina Del Mar. The trip to the garden was very complicated and difficult. We took the micro but we did not get off at the right stop and had to walk on the side of the highway for awhile and get honked at lots. When we finally found the road to the garden we had to walk for close to an hour. The garden was really pretty with many plants and trees from all over the world. I think the garden will be really pretty in the Spring.

Yesterday (actually this past Saturday) I had a day more or less free. In the morning I got hit hard with homesickness. I spoke with my Dad a little bit and Ethan and that helped some. Rossy knew that I was sad and decided that it would be best for me to get out of the house so we went for a walk down near the ocean and talked about many different things. We drank hot chocolate and ate croissants (media lunas) at a beautiful outdoor cafe.

At night Rossy, Freddy, and me went to Freddy's sister's house in Portamont (sp?) for "once" (a snack between lunch and dinner) Freddy's sister's house is very rural and traditional. Portamont is in the mountains and is very pretty. I really enjoyed it since it is rural but I could not live there since it is very dirty. I got to meet four of the seven siblings of Freddy along with their spouses, a nephew of Freddy and Freddy's father. It was an interesting time for me because while I did not understand much of what everyone was saying it was fun to try and understand and get accustomed to the dialect.

Later in the night I went out with my classmates. We went to a nightclub called Stingray that one of our orientation leaders rented for us. It was really fun, I tried a piscola which is a half glass of Pisco (the official liquor of Chile) with a little bit of coke. I did not like it because it was way too strong for me but it was good to try. We danced for a long time with both Americans and Chileans. I love the way the Chileans dance because it is a mix of traditional dances such as merengue and salsa with modern dance moves. Close to two in the morning (very early for the Chilenos) my friend Natalie and I left. It was a little bad because we each had to walk a number of blocks alone to get to our houses.

This morning (Sunday morning actually) I got up and ate with Rossy and then went for a wonderful run down by the sea. The ocean is amazing here especially with the sun and blue sky. In the afternoon Ya Ya (my grandmother on Rossy's side) came over and we had family dinner. Ya Ya is very nice and caring. When she heard that my birthday is the same day as one of the other grandchildrens she immedietely started making plans for a party for us and cakes for us. Thank God my family is amazing!