Wofford College - Study Abroad

Random tidbits about life in Chile...

- when grocery shopping, you have to weigh and get a sticker of the price for produce and bread and then pay for all your stuff at the checkout counter

- music in commercials on TV and in stores generally is American music, and is not usually older (from the 80s and 90s, depends...(i heard "walking in sunshine" the other day)

- many guys (especially younger guys) have longer hair (with mullets and rat-tails, etc) and a lot of university-age guys do this because during schooling (from elementary school to high school) they have to keep their hair cut short for school (if their hair is too long, they get sent home to have it cut...) so growing out their hair is a way to celebrate their freedom and a small act of rebellion b/c finally they can do whatever they want with their hair..

- similarly in basically all colegios (school before college) the students have to wear uniforms (girls usually wear a dress with socks that come halfway up their calves and boys wear dressy pants and a collared shirt with the name of their school) and so not many university students wear shirts with their school on them (like in the US, clemson, wofford etc) b/c they have had to wear a shirt with their school name on it for so long and they don't want to be labeled like that anymore..

- couples show their affection without shame and PDA is abundant! Making out and maybe even beyond that in the metro or on the grass somewhere is common (partly because for younger people, they usually still live with their parents during college and maybe after till they can afford a home of their own and are not allowed to display affection in their homes with their parents/ siblings around, etc so they do this in the streets, away from their homes..)

- futbol (soccer) is big here as it is in most south american countries, and chile usually is not very good compared to its neighbors (Argentina and Brasil for example) but everyone watches the futbol games for the national team and if Chile wins, there's celebration in the streets with people screaming and singing and honking their horns and holding banners and everyone has a jersey with a name of one of the players. And pretty much every Chilean soccer team is sponsored by Cristal beer. It is across the chest of every player's jersey.  And, Chile played Peru last night and hasn't won in Lima since 1985 and we won 3-1 (BIG DEAL!) and there's also conflict with Peru right now over the border and access to the sea (Peru wants more controls of the sea and is not satisfied with the last treaty agreements) so Chileans were also celebrating because this shows we're dominant or just boosts Chile's nationalism...

- when you get water, it's either water sin gas (regular bottled water) or water con gas (carbonated) and some restaurants don't have water sin gas so you have to have a carbonated beverage or juice (with tons of sugar in it) so it's frustrating to me b/c i love water and try to be healthy...

- there are mostly American movies in theaters and on TV and they are in English with Spanish subtitles. Kind of boring but cool if you want to see a current American movie..

- Super 8 is a candy bar and they sell them everywhere

- fruit = dessert but Chileans get what's left over of the fruit because all the fruit is exported to other countries...sadness..

- Chileans don't believe in neutering/spaying so there are stray dogs EVERYWHERE in the streets

- because Chile lacks its own energy resources people are very energy-usage conscious

- kids live at home until they are married and while they're in the universities (there's no dorms in universities) and it seems that family is very important to Chileans (for example, my psychology teacher asked everyone to describe their family and their relationship with their family on the first day of class..)

- a large percentage of the population smokes, and you are allowed to in many buildings (i went to a bar the other day and there's a small sign that says "Welcome smokers"...yuck!)

- fanny packs are still in style

- notebooks are graph paper, there is no lined paper

- university students don't buy books, you either photocopy things from your professor or out of library books

- the grading system in Chile is 1-7 and the saying goes that God gets a 7, professors get a 6, and a good student can get a 5 (you have to get a 4 to pass) so Chileans overall aren't as worried about grades as people in the US (wofford especially) and a 5 is good for them but a 5 is like an equivalent to a B- which isn't that great for us wofford students..and esp since my grades transfer directly to my GPA...but im taking easier classes geared towards foreigners so hopefully it'll be fine...

- condiments (like ketchup, mustard, mayo) come in bags, not bottles

- chilean families have juice a lot (peach juice, banana flavored juice, etc) and it has tons of SUGAR in it..

- there aren't many spices in Chile, if it needs more flavor, put salt on it..explains why everyone has high cholesterol, etc..

- abortion is illegal in Chile even if the mother's life is in danger, the doctors will do everything they can to ensure the mother survives but they cannot abort the baby no matter what and abortion is a touchy subject and politicians who have said they'll make abortion legal have never gotten elected in Chile (for ex, Bachelet the current president has not mentioned during her entire term b/c she knows it's a touchy subject)

- obesity is a big problem in chile and 90% of the people live sedentary lifestyles (sound familiar?)

- to greet people, you kiss them on the cheek and chileans are more touchy-feely in general and don't respect the American "bubble" as much but I like it, Americans are a little too cold in my opinion..

- there's hospitals here called "postas" that are only emergency rooms..

- the days in the summer are hot but the mornings and nights are colder (it's a big difference now that it's turning into fall, maybe lows in the 50s ish..) b/c of the mountain air...

- there's no mosquitoes but there are a lot of ANTS that are all over my bathroom and you learn quickly not to throw away food in a trash can on the ground (you have to put it in a bag that hangs from a cabinet off of the ground so the ants don't invade...)

- in pharmacies and other stores, you have to take a number from this contraption thing that spits out tickets and then they serve you at the counter in order of numbers and a screen will flash what number can go up and talk to the person at the counter next...confusing if you don't know about this system because you wait forever and never get to go since you didn't take a number...

- for things that cost a small amount of money (equivalent of 1 or 2 american dollars) the people giving out tickets (for a museum, for ex) usually dont' have change so if you have a big bill, you can't enter the museum b/c they don't have change..a little difficult since when you get money out of the atm, they give you large bills...

- apparently chileans usually try to be helpful but often tell you what they think the answer to your question is even if they're not really sure, so if you ask them something about directions, they'll tell you what they think the directions are to a place but it's often incorrect so often times i have to ask 2-3 people along the way to get somewhere...

- when people ask you where you're from, they often can guess you're from the US, and if you say, "The united states" they'll say, "yeah, but where in the us?" and they usually have an idea of where states are, which is saying something since i don't know where half the midwestern states are..altho south carolina is kind of hard for them but everyone knows where florida, new york, and california are...

- chileans are very interested in what O'Bama's doing and the majority like him...

Randomness:
We went to a restaurant named "El Hoyo" and were in a big group so we were served pork and potatoes (gross! i hate pork and this was what they served us- see picture below-...one of the girls is a vegetarian, poor thing...) but there's a little too much meat in chile for my taste but you know, a lot of ppl eat meat in the us too...

More sometime in the future about what's goin on in my life...sorry traveling to and from classes takes up at least 2-3 hours of my day b/c i live far away so i don't have any free time.  But im good over all, just praying i don't drop dead of smoke inhalation/ lung cancer while i'm here..

Fresh air in the mountains...

Hello again! So on Thursday I got my Chilean ID card so now I'm official, yay!  And Friday night I went to the party/ concert which was at La Catolica, a university in Santiago. I was a little frustrated because we had to get there at 6 pm and the bands didn't start playing till almost 8 pm, there were 4 bands scheduled to play and there were breaks between the bands where they played radio music by wellknown artists and this music was better than the bands and many of the other students there were singing along.  I left pretty early because we were going to meet really early in the morning the next day to go to Cajon del Maipo...So on Saturday we met at the metro at 7 am (I had to get up at 5:45 am aaah!) and took the metro to a faraway stop and then (with some help) we found the correct bus (the guy who helped us asked us if we liked Obama, it seems everyone around the world likes Obama, probably more than people in the US it seems..) and it only took an hour to get to our destination and we got off the bus near where we wanted to go (with some help from the busdriver and people on the bus, they were laughing at us when we got off...) and found the cabana (like a cabin) where part of the group was planning to stay the night.  The cabin was very cute with 7 beds, a small kitchen, a table, and a bathroom.  We eventually decided to go on a hike first so we got our stuff and packed out lunches, planning to do a two hour hike with a view of a cascada (waterfall) but the guide said we had to do a four hour hike to get to the waterfall so we said Ok...So we climbed up the mountain and the area is very dry because there's a sequilla (drought) with not enough rain and there's sand everywhere so it's very slippery and it was hot so we were exhausted after 30 minutes and our guide (Alejandro) kept making fun of us and telling us to "Come on", because he was way faster than us.  We're a little out of shape, can you tell? So, after almost 3 hours we finally get near the waterfall and have to climb around these rocks and it was really scary and Alejandro had to help us and encourage us and then we reached the waterfall.  During the trek up, we had to side step a lot and there were times where if you weren't careful you could literally fall off the mountain, it was a little too intense for me but.. So we ate lunch at the waterfall and then headed back but first Alejandro showed some of us a spring with freshwater and we filled up our water bottles.  Then we headed back and I was pretty tired and frustrated by this point (as were many others I think) because I didn't intend to spend my whole day hiking but we got back 5 hours later to the ranch with the cabins and we were all so relieved to be back, we used the restroom and put on our suits and went to the pool on the ranch.  Then I and three others left to go back to Santiago and the other girls stayed.  Originally I had planned to try the zipline that one of the resorts nearby has but it only takes about 2 hours from the metro station near me to get there so we can go back again if we want and apparently it's gorgeous in the winter with the snow on the mountains.  I returned home last night and was very tired but I met a couple that are cousins to my homestay parents and they were very nice.  Now I'm on the same time as the east coast because we "fell back" today so that's good although it's going to be darker at night and turn into fall soon which I'm kind of sad about but that's ok...Pictures from the trip are below:

The Name of the ranch some of the girls were staying in and those of us who weren't staying got to take advantage of all the perks (bathroom access, pool, etc)

One of the cascadas (waterfalls)

Waterfall:

Same waterfall as before (you can see the rocks to the left that we had to climb on to reach the waterfall pictured in the picture above  which you can see in the top left of the picture (I was pretty scared climbing on those rocks, I don't have much experience with rock climbing and the experience I have is in a building when I'm harnessed in!)

You can see the dry, sandy terrain because of the draught, we had to literally slide down the mountain near the end of the hike and hold onto branches as we went down and it was sooo scary and needless to say my shoes are brown and dirty now (sad but i guess it would've happened eventually)

Some of the houses in the city of San Alfonso, where we were. Pinochet's house (one of them) is located in San Alfonso and Alejandro pointed it out to us.

Well, I'm off to try a new baptist church out today with one of my friends.  They are rare here because everything is Catholic and it seems like there's no hill in Chile that doesn't have a statue of the virgin on it. My classes start tomorrow so back to the world of school, more soon!

Outdoor Museum of Murals

Ok, so I'm still catching up on blogging from last weekend. Last weekend, we went to Vina del Mar and Valparaiso, which are two cities that are connected and are only a couple hours from Santiago.  But on the way there, we went to Isla Negra (named for its black sand, it's not actually an island but it is on the coast by the ocean) and saw one of the three houses of Pablo Neruda (a chilean writer who won the nobel prize and many other awards, he's a big deal in Chile!) This house is where he lived until he died.  It is marvelous and amazing. He has so much stuff, he was a collector of ships in a bottle, statues, bugs, birds, masks, shells, colored glass bottles, and more.  Each room is like a museum of its own and his house has many rooms and is big but its narrow and long (like Chile!) and has a wonderful view of the ocean.  His inspiration for many of his poems about the ocean came from the view from this house.  He is buried here with his third and final wife.  Below is a picture of part of the house:

Here's a picture of me in Neruda's "backyard" so to say, what a view!

This is me with my friend Alyssa outside of Neruda's house:

Then after visiting Neruda's incredible house (he also has one in Santiago and somewhere else...I haven't visited the one in Santiago yet) we went to Vina del Mar where we ate in a hotel that had a casino and it was a big buffet with many veggies, fruits, deserts, and other options, it was yummy! Then we spent an hour or so at the beach in Vina, just relaxing. Vina del Mar is known as the "Ciudad de Jardin" (Garden City) and is famous for its beaches.  Below is a sample of the sandart we saw:
Dolphins, my favorite!

Then we headed to Valparaiso ("Valpo") and went on a tour of the "Museo a Cielo Abierto".  It's a museum that is outside and consists of murals on the walls of houses and buildings (it looks like grafitti kind of but there are laws to protect the murals/ paintings) In Valpo, there are many hills and there's a center part of the city and then once you leave the center part, all the streets are really steep because they're on a hill and it's a real workout to walk up the streets.  So, we got a workout looking at the outdoor museum.  Below, is the train thing we took to get a little higher up on the hill.

The houses in Valpo are very colorful with brilliant pastels and perky colors as you can see below:

Below is a view of Valparaiso:

And here's some samples of the mural/ wall art of the outdoor museum:

We also saw the building where many government events take place for Chile (the building's called "El Congreso") and it's the building where the inaugeration takes place.  Our guide was like, there's the "ugly government building".  Then some people from the group returned to Santiago and smaller groups stayed.  My group of 6 girls and 1 boy stayed in a hostel.  We had made reservations via email and printed out directions but it was kind of hard to find and we had to ask for help, typical :) But we found it, and it was a great 1st hostel experience for me.  The three people that ran it were super nice and helpful, with advice of what to do, what bus to take, etc.  We all slept in one room with bunk beds and there were two bathrooms to use and a lounge, kitchen, and water purifier machine (i used this b/c i've learned by trial and error not to drink sink water in cities outside of santiago) We went to eat and found a vegetarian place (i ate my packed dinner because i'm cheap...) And we went out and got beers at a place and i drank a sip and my friend made fun of me and asked if i was the sober girl of my sorority, well yes actually ;) I was still a little sick anyways and i don't like the taste of alcohol. Then we went to a club called "El Huevo" and apparently it's pretty rocking.  There were 2 big dance rooms and 2 lounges and a bar with seating on the roof.  The clubs are often called "discoteques" (like discotec) here and now i know why, every song had a techo beat to it in the background and we heard american songs, american songs are popular here.  Then the next day we went back to Vina and spent some hours on the beach. The water is pretty cold, not like in South Carolina..We ate a late lunch, got some ice cream (everywhere has "helado" = icecream, maybe because it's summer..) and left the hostel and attempted to take a bus to a bus station where we could get a bus back to santiago, we got off on the wrong stop but found the station pretty soon. Some of the girls discovered that with our Universidad de Chile id, we got a discount on the bus tickets but i was the first person so i didn't realize it but it comes in handy being a student.  We won't get our student metro/ bus passes for awhile (hopefully in april) so i'm pretty frustrated that everywhere i go in santiago, i have to pay the normal price (which is 4 times more but oh well)  Then on Sunday, I tried out  a church "La Vina" and it was good and the only thing i can walk to in Santiago because everything else is super far away...Then later that day, I went with my friend Katrina and her two Chilean friends to climb the hill "San Cristobal" and we took a funicular up the hill (kind of like a train like is pictured above from the valpo trip) and then we walked around and saw the statues of Jesus and the Virgen (you can see the Catholic influence everywhere!) and climbed and climbed and saw wonderful views of Santiago, one of the chilean boys pointed out the different barrios (kind of like suburbs or smaller towns inside of Santiago) so that was cool.  The next day I was sore from all that walking/ hiking so I got some exercise so that's good!

Katrina and I in front of the statue of Jesus on the cross: 

 Me in front of the Andes Mountains

Part of Santiago with the Andes in the background:

Katrina and I again:

The other day, a group of girls and I went to the Santiago Zoo, it was fun but there's not really any animals out of the ordinary. 
A panther:

Zebras!

Wednesday a small group and I tried to enter a museum of art in santiago but it was closed so we went into the Museum of Precolombian Art.  It was free for students so that was good.  We saw many statues and pottery made by indigenous people in the past, it was interesting and amazing that these pieces are still intact. Our feet were tired so we went to a ice cream/ cafe place.  It's hard to pay here in a group because they don't really do separate checks..Also you have to notify the server that you want the check, they don't bring it to you automatically.  So, I'm getting pretty fed up with all the people who smoke in Santiago, maybe it's like this in all big cities but my congestion and lungs don't like it and also there's apparently a lot of pollution in Santiago, especially in the winter so I don't think I'd ever want to live here permanently but it's only been three weeks. And there's always cars going by with noise all the time so I'm having trouble sleeping but hopefully I will get more accostomed to it.  But enough complaining, I'm doing pretty well and my congestion's getting better i think.  I'm going to some gathering tonight with new students (foreigners) enrolled in the Univ. of Chile and to a place two hours away from Santiago tomorrow Cajon del Maipo tomorrow so more details soon.  And I attempted to try some classes this week (more details later) but all my classes will start next week.  Hasta luego!

Trip to the Hospital anyone?

Hola! Sorry it has been so LONG since i wrote, I have not had any time really and I have also been sick.  So, My mood hasn't been quite as optimistic/ happy these past two weeks mostly because I got sick around February 27 (almost two weeks ago) and as the title suggests, my sore throat/ cough/ congestion turned into an ear infection and it was so painful that I had to go to the Sala de Urgencia (emergency room) in a Chilean hospital instead of waiting for my Doctor's appointment but I am getting better now although my ear's still a little clogged up.  So, Orientation has worn me out but we did get to go to Chiloé, the biggest Chilean island.  We walked through markets there and saw many items made of madera (wood) and also many mariscos (seafood) such as fish, clams, shrimp, etc.  Seafood is a big part of life for the people of Chiloe.  The way of life in Chiloe is different from the rest of Chile, because the physical separation by water of the island from the mainland has helped to preserve the unique culture and history of Chiloe.  We went to Punihuil in Chiloé and it looked like paradise with the blue waters and small islands.  We saw many wildlife there such as different kinds of birds (including penguins) and sea otters.  Basically all of the penguins have left by now to migrate north to warmer waters so we got to see a few before they left.  Then we watched a family cook curanto, a famous Chiloe dish.  The people start a fire and put rocks on it but then put out the fire and use the hot rocks to cook food.  So, they pile on food in layers on top of the rocks and leave it to cook for an hour or hour and a half.  They put chicken, pork, beef, clams, potatoes, bread, giant lettuce leaves, and a layer of dirt on the coals and then take all the food off by layer and put it in containers to be put on plates to eat.  It is yummy but was so much food.

Some of the crafts made by chiloe people, the majority of the clothing sold is made of lana (wool).


The people cooking curanto


Penguins living at Puñihuil

In Chiloé we went to a museum and learned about the history of Chiloe.  Also, I tried Jugos naturales (like smoothies) in pear and honeydew flavors, yummy!  The next day, our large group (28 students) split up into smaller groups and we went to spend some time with either a Chiloe family or a few workers in a microempresa (small business). Some people learned about crafts made of wood, dolls, basket weaving, and the history/ culture of Chiloe.  I went and spent 5 hours with a family who owns their own land and have 350 sheep along with some turkeys, goats, horses, and dogs that help herd the sheep.  It was very interesting to hear about their daily lives and we had baby turkey for lunch (it was yummy). In order to clear more land, they start to cut down a tree (with an ax or whatever instrument..) and then have bulls and they tie a string around the bulls and attach it to the tree and the bulls pull the tree so that it falls down, an environmentally friendly way to clear land!  Also the church is a big part of life for the people in Chiloe and in many communities, they have a main church and then thirty or so chapels (smaller church buildings) located throughout the community. The churches are typically catholic. (The majority of churches in Chile in general are Catholic but many people say they're Catholic but do not attend church regularly.) 
Below is the front (altar) part of a church in Chiloe:

Back in Santiago, I tried empanadas (they consist of bread stuffed with a variety of things, you can get a cheese empanada, vegetable empanada, shrimp, beef, etc) and are good.

Me about to eat my empanada with my agua (water) sin gas (not carbonated) next to me. In chile they have water con gas (carbonated) in many restaurants and often don't offer plain water in a bottle and I don't like the carbonated water. And there are no refills and the napkins are usually smaller - environmentally friendly i suppose :)

Also, there are no dorms for the universities in Santiago (at least, maybe in all of chile) so students live with their parents.  And, the concept of college like in the US doesn't exist.  After high school, students go to a school that specializes in what they want to do. For example, a person who wants to be a lawyer goes to a law school for 5-6 years after high school and graduates with a law degree.  I think there are a few general education requirements in addition to whatever your specialization is but there's not this 4 year gap like in the US before going to grad school.  So for foreigners like me, we have to travel around to many different campuses all over Santiago to take classes because all the law classes are in one building in one campus and all the medicine classes are in a different building in a different campus.  In Santiago, there are many things written in English such as "restaurant" for restaurante (in Spanish) and you can see the American influence with posters advertising new American movies all over Santiago.  Also, I have had to get used to riding on the metro and the bus system to go anywhere.  The metro is really great and pretty easy once you get used to it because the map of all the stops is in every metro train.  However, the bus system is super confusing, because there are different stops and you have to know what stop to go to to get on the right bus.  I get frustrated often because I live the farthest away from my IES building and the Universities than any of the other students and it takes me 45 minutes to an hour to get to the IES building (where I will have some of my classes) and even longer to go other places but I live in a richer (more money) part of Santiago and I love my hostmom so I think I will be fine.  My host mom spoils me and always asks me what foods I like and wants to make sure i like what she cooks and is very upbeat and optimistic and helpful and calls me "mi amor" (my love).  In Chile, everything is diminuized so they add "ito" onto almost every word. "Ito" means little. So café (coffee) would be a cafécito.  Or niña (girl) would be niñita.  I will have to learn all the chilean sayings because there are sayings they use in Chile that aren't used in other spanish-speaking countries.  Also, in most public places you have to pay to buy toilet paper to use the restroom.  It usually costs about 25 cents or so and in most all Chilean public restrooms (referring to ones in restaurants, schools, etc where you don't have to pay) the toilet paper is outside in the main part of the bathroom and not in each stall, it's fun when I forget this ;) In general, the chilean people are very friendly and usually will help you if you are lost or have a question.  Well, more later (hopefully in the next day or so) Thanks for reading and being patient with me!  

 

Más despacio, por favor!

I landed in Santiago, Chile yesterday after one minor change of flight plans (I was switched to a different airline and went from GSP airport in SC to Atlanta instead of Dallas but I actually got to Santiago an hour earlier than originally planned so it worked out fine.)  I was very nervous flying by myself as I haven't ever flown by myself before but on the flight to Santiago, I met a man named Agosto who was a Chilean and he was very friendly and told me about Chile and about their landscape and culture and certain sayings they say and I enjoyed talking with him although we talked in English. (Yes, I was a wimp and was too afraid to speak Spanish.)  Agosto helped me in the airport and reassured me b/c I was afraid of immigration and being in a foreign country but he said that most Chileans are friendly and like to help foreigners, so that's reassuring.  I found my IES group at the airport amid people shouting "Taxi" and holding up signs for people they were waiting for at the airport.  I arrived early in the morning and met many of the people in my IES Study abroad group but had to wait for 2 1/2 hours for other students to come in from their flights and then we traveled in a van and each of us was dropped off to our homestay family and por supuesto (of course) I was dropped off last but so far I have learned to be patient b/c it will all work out fine.  My family consists of a wife and a husband who are older and have a grown daughter with a 12 year old son.  The daughter and her son visit often and live nearby.  They are very nice and the mom spoils me and asks me what I like to eat and let me pick out breakfast foods at the supermercado (grocery store) and calls me, "Mi amor" (my love) and says I should make myself at home and in their family, they don't eat a big dinner, instead they eat snacks or pie or something smaller but she has fixed me my own special dinner twice already because she knows that Americans like 3 full meals a day so I feel loved. 
Below is a picture of the view from my bathroom with a mountain range in the background:

It is hard speaking mostly only Spanish (the title means: slower, please!) but I enjoy it and am having fun learning words and sayings of Chile and I'm getting used to it and I understand why you must be immersed in a language to really learn it.  It's very hot here (upper 80s) and is sunny because it's the end of summer but cooler in the morning and night so that is refreshing.  Chile is unique because it's so narrow, it's about 3 1/2 hours from one coast to another and there are mountains with snow (Andes, etc) in the winter, lakes, glaciers, deserts, and beaches all in the same country.  And apparently Chile is basically the safest country in South America although pickpocketing is common in Santiago, but it is the capital, so what do you expect?  I am overwhelmed by the bus and metro system but I will get the hang of it soon... All in all, it has been a good two days so far.  Until next time, Chao!       

One day in the US the next in Chile

Let the countdown begin! I will fly out of Greenville Spartanburg airport at 5:05 on Saturday so I have two days left at home before embarking on my study abroad adventure.  I am just about packed after a few days of just packing and I have everything I could possibly need, thanks to my Mom's "just in case" philosophy :) It will be hard for me to get used to having so few belongings and no access to my closet of clothes but I am sure that I will have a greater appreciation for my home and all the comforts of the Good Old USA upon my return.  I am pretty nervous about going to Chile by myself and living there for 4 1/2 months, mostly how I will manage to do everything without my friends or family to guide me through and also having to speak Spanish all the time but I know that God will be with me every step of the way.  I hope to gain more independence and learn a lot about the culture and people of Chile.  As my stepdad says, "In Chile, there's people just like you and me. Teenagers, adults, nice people and not-so-nice people but they're just trying to make a living like we are."  While in Chile, I will miss my younger sister Karina's graduation from high school but she'll understand, maybe ;) Below is a picture of my family. From the left: me, my mom, my stepdad Pops, and my sister Karina.  My hair is a lot shorter now but you will see that in future pictures.

I am excited to be away from the stress of Wofford for a semester and to experience life in another country and I know I will be changed in some way when I return in July. So, the next time I blog I will be in Santiago, Chile! Until then, Adios!