mas y mas y mas

So Chile is still great and I'm getting more and more wrapped up in it every day. We took that trip to Mendoza and it was really fun (and really, really cold - something that our tour guides neglected to mention but we probably should have figured out on our own). We did some trekking and white water rafting, level, 4, which was awesome. I may have been thrown in the water by one of the guides because I was being such a brat, ha. All in all, trip to Mendoza was fun, except the 10 hour bus ride in which 3 of those hours were spent at the border, showing passports and Chilean IDs (which I now have).

The people in Chile are still a bit of a mystery to me. They can be the absolute friendliest when you talk to them but they can also be incredibly rude. For one, Chileans ALWAYS play chicken with you in the street, and they will slam into you before they are the ones to move.....soooo I've started playing back. Ha. They're still in the lead but I'm coming back strong. The women here are pretty and nice, and wear the tightest clothes I've ever seen. One of our fellow teachers at DUOC the other day, assuming we were ignorant 'gringas', talked really badly about us in Spanish in our ear shot, about how we were dumb gringas who couldn't teach - I'm still trying to think of a good retort. Other than that though, people are always super friendly if you talk to them and the rest of the staff at San Carlos de Apoquindo has been great.

My classes are still going well. I am always really proud of my students when they do well on tests or when the lightbulbs start clicking. They're absolutely great, especially my Basic Intensive students, who I have for twice as much time a week as my other classes, so thank goodness I like them. The kids (I call them kids even though I have students who are 25) are even greater since they try their hardest to focus in class when there are men jackhammering outside of the classroom (literally), from the earthquake damage.

Speaking of earthquakes, we've had a few more - more aftershocks, I believe. We had one yesterday morning that I didn't realize was happening until my student said we were moving and I looked at the markers on my desk rolling back and forth. At this point, I always think we're moving, so I just assume that it's all in my head.

The weather is getting a little colder here, and some of the leaves are changing, not to bright colors, more just straight to brown, but it still gives it the feeling of fall: brisk weather, crunchy leaves...which of course, in turn, is making me miss home. I can't believe that I've now been here for 2 months. It has absolutely flown by, which I'm hoping it continues to do in certain ways and not in other ways.

I'm loving my new apartment and the area where I live. I'm especially loving my housemates, Jackie - from Iowa, and Erik - from Peru, who are the best. I'm surprisingly loving the fact that for the first time, I'm paying all my bills on my own. I don't like it that much when I'm actually spending the money on necessities, but it makes me feel more accomplished, more like an adult - ha.

I miss and love you all and am trying to figure out how to post pictures on here. Maybe next time. Love, Sis