Kosher McDonald´s???

I never saw that one coming, but they do exist.

Only 10 Shopping Days Left!

I love BsAs! One of the reasons I love BsAs is because it's a great place to shop. You could endlessly walk the streets here and find things to buy. The prices are right, there is incredible variety and fashion, and it's just plain ole city fun! Let's just say that I've got big plans to buy, buy, buy and sufficient room in my suitcase!!!

On Being the Dumb One

For better or worse, all my life I've kept distance between me and experiences that leave me feeling vulnerable. This experience has been so incredibly humbling because I've felt a new kind of vulnerability. I love words. I splatter, splash, and many times drench people in my thoughts. I've taken for granted words and how we use them for everything. Without this ability I've been humbled. Let's just say I've been the dumb one and self expression with words comes at a heavier price. Today I didn't pass my biweekly exam. Needed a 75, got a 73. Not a huge deal but still keeps things in perspective for me. I expected this long before now, and to be honest I'm not surprised as I barely slid in with a pass on the last exam. I've learned loads but it's just the fact that I still have such a long way to go that is at times frustrating. On the fluency road I've just barely found my feet.

La Vega

There is this sight and smell heavy market called La Vega here in Santiago. It's big as a city block, covered, and filled with food. It's a magical and strange place to grocery shop. You name it, La Vega has it. Fruits, veggies, grains, fish, meat, and more More MORE! You wind your way along all these tiny walkways passing vendor after vendor selling food for every type of stomach and imagination. It's on counters, in barrels, in pretty colorful piles, sitting on ice, and wafting in the air around you. My squeamish stomach did anxious somersaults at the sight of stomach, tongue, braided intestine, hooves, and other animal parts. The smells that went along with them moved my curious self quickly down the walkway. The huge barrels of spices, every kind of dried fruit and grain, and big luscious fruits and veggies I didn't mind at all. I just imagined what an enjoyment it must be to shop here. A place alive and vivaciously centered around our stomachs! Definitely my kind of place. There's also a tiny walkway packed with what you could call miniature restaurants. All the while you are walking along, trying to make a decision, you are being courted to eat here or there. Your choices are many for such a small space. Once you do decide though, you find that there are no menus, but friendly service that quickly brings you a hot plate of today's special.

Free fortune on the Metro?

The other day was quietly chatting in English on the metro ride home with another student who lives out where I do. She's a blondie so it was hard to keep a low profile even though we were speaking softly. Our differentness must have been intriguing enough, because this random guy approached us and started chatting it up.

In 4 weeks of using the metro every day no one has ever approached me. Usually in the metro you're a bunch of folks in close quarters but there isn't usually a lot of chatter. I imagine it's the same in all other subway systems---people staring off in the distance, reading something, bobbing their heads to mp3 players, or just riding with eyes shut and resting until the anticipated stop arrives.

After almost 5 months of study I'm happy to report that I can understand a good portion of what people say to me. The other girl however could not. So it was me straining to hear what this guy was saying over the noise of the moving train. At first the chit chat seemed normal. The conversation took a strange turn when he said to me ¨you´re Mormon aren't you?¨

Well what proceeded after that was some sort of fortune telling of the sort I've never experienced. Let's see, this is what I could understand... I'm introverted but intelligent, that I'll only find love once in my life, that I want a husband and family, and more interesting tidbits I missed due to the circumstances. He also mentioned things about the other girl that were surprisingly accurate as well.

We all got off the train at the end of the line, he suggested that he could tell me more, I politely declined, and we all parted ways. I left the metro scratching my head and wondering what kind of Mormon vibe I must emit. That's the only thing I figured he couldn't have deducted just by observation.

Pensamientos Sobre Mi Vida en Santiago

Well it's my final week here in Santiago. I made the decision last week to change my program and go back to Buenos Aires for my last 2 weeks. As much as I've tried I haven't fallen in love with Santiago like I fell in love with Buenos Aires. I do think Chile as a country though, could easy win my love as there are infinite numbers of outdoorsy things to do. That love will have to wait on another day when I have the time and money to find myself so far south again.

My Chile Experience. The observations, enjoyments, and dislike over the past 4 weeks:

1. I've been cold on and off for the entire 3 weeks. What did I really expect with winter on the way? I've asked myself the exact same thing. Turns out that a lot of places in Santiago don't have central heating, including my room which has 3 outside walls and doesn't receive a lot of sun during the day. My nightly attire includes wool socks, my Patagonia pullover, and some nights a beanie. I conduct the majority of operations in my room with my body tucked into the heavily blanketed bed. I will never again take such things as central heating for granted.

2. The pollution here is visible and ever present. It's like you've put on a pair of glasses that zaps away the details of the horizon, the Andes, and clear blue sky. In place of this your eyes must pierce through the hazy air. Sometimes, when I'm walking towards my house and I look up and can just make out that the Andes are ahead, I wonder how my little lungs are doing breathing the air here day in and day out. It's definitely not the kind of souvenir I want to take home with me.

3. The Chileans who live in my neighborhood and the neighborhood where my school is are squeaky clean folks! I pass by some of the cleanest park benches ever on my way from the metro stop to the school. I swear I see them being cleaned at least once a week. And every morning people are out sweeping the leaves from their little bit of sidewalk too. So my shoes stay clean and my lungs are being filled with dirty dirty air. What a funny irony.

4. I've had the fun experience of jamming myself onto the improved and crowded subway system everyday to get to and from school. Though it's often a full contact experience, it fills my people quota for the day. To be totally truthful, I think I've become addicted to having lots of people around me. Like I've mentioned before- I'm sure I'll experience withdrawals when my feet finally find their way home to Utah. I'll go from seeing hundreds upon hundreds of people everyday to a number drastically less. Please come visit me and when you do, would you mind bringing your entire neighborhood with you?

5. Teenagers here are big into the gothic/punk look. In general though the clothing color scheme includes a lot of black.

6. Happy to note that the food here is spicier. It's strange though, after so many months of less spicy food, I can feel the spiciness in my stomach. Eating more seafood here too. As a resident of a land locked state, I've tried several new types of seafood. Not sure what they were, but I ate them all the same.

Okay that seems to be enough for now---it's cold, the air is dirty, the streets are clean, the clothing is black, and the food is spicy and a lot of it comes from the sea. I love making a short story long!