Happy Birthday Colin!

In case any of you were unaware, yesterday was a very important day.

"You know those little booties they
make for newborn babies? Well they're
like that, but man-sized! They're
man-sized baby booties!"

Yesterday, our very favorite Chilean adventurer, Colin Dunham, turned 21 years old!



To make up for have to celebrate it far from family and (most) friends, we tried to make it as special as possible, and everyone pitched in!




For starters, just after midnight, when it officially became May 29th, Colin's host family showed up at the door to his bedroom singing the Chilean version of happy birthday and carrying presents. They got him a cozy chaleco (sweater/jacket), and Mama Patty made hand-knit slippers to keep Colin's toesies warm around the house. They are precious.

In case you were wondering, the Spanish
version of Happy Birthday goes like this:

Cumpleaños feliz,
deseamos a ti.
Feliz cumpleaños a Colin,
que los cumplas feliz!

Next, after a good night's sleep, Colin and I met up an hour before class to head to the mall. We went to Dunkin' Donuts, because Colin wanted to share his birthday celebration with our whole class! Unfortunately, the guy working there let us sit around and wait for twenty minutes before he told us that they wouldn't be open until 11:00--exactly when our class starts. Fome. (Lame.) Luckily, we didn't
get too bored, because I used that time to give Colin his birthday present!

Candy, candy, and more candy!

Not to be discouraged by the fact that Dunkin' Donuts was closed, we stopped at a little shop on the way to class and Colin bought our classmates muffins and orange juice instead. We were all very appreciative of both the food and the temporary distraction from normal class. Our good friend Charlene even bought Colin a Mickey Mouse crown to wear so that everyone would know he was el rey del día (king of the day)!

Charlene's so awesome, she even wrote 21 on Colin's crown!
(It's not quite as big a deal when the drinking age is 18...)

After our first class, Colin and I stopped at Mango's Cafe to drink tea, eat croissants, and relax before heading back for our Ortofonía test. Colin invited all of our classmates to his birthday lunch, so after our test, several of us walked to Pizza Hut--Colin's restaurant of choice. We met up with Hilary and Charlene, who had gone back to the store in an attempt to find a piñata. When they couldn't find one, they decided not only to each get him a thoughtful birthday present, but also to buy party favors for the rest of us! (And let me tell you, Reese's Peanut Butter Cups are DE-licious.) So we spent the afternoon enjoying deliciously American pizza and some great company.


When our last class of the day ended, Colin and I headed back to his house for torta (cake) and once. Enro was excited to see Colin drinking a Heineken with once, but unfortunately I only planned for Colin's one drink on his birthday, so Enro had to get his own beer instead. Maka picked out a tres leches (three milks) cake, and it was delicious. Mama Patty managed to fit 21 candles on it, and Colin successfully blew them all out in one try.

21 Candles... but did he make a wish?

On top of his Chilean celebration, Facebook, email, and Skype brought Colin's friends and family from 5000 miles away a little closer to us, and I think it was a pretty good day all around.

Happy Birthday, Colin Dunham.

-Rachel

Home is where they speak Spanish, everyday.

Not to be outdone, I will now tell you about the absolute best host family, any gringo could ever wish for. Let me introduce ya'll to the Agurto-Argandoña family!

Patty, Enro, Maka, and Enrique in Maitencillo. 

La Madre: Patricia (Patty)

My Chilean host mother is the sweetest person ever. She has never failed to smile and make me feel at home since the day I arrived. She always greets me with a beso on my cheek and every night before I go to sleep, she says "que amanezcas bien." (This translates literally to something like "that you dawn well," but of course she's always hoping that I get up well-rested and ready for another day in Chile.) Sweet though she may be, Momma Patty is not without her motherly instruction. More than once I've been reminded of proper eating etiquette at the table. Usually it's that I'm trying to saw a piece of meat in half with the edge of my fork and she gently (or not-so-gently) reminds me that knives exist with a strong "Hijo, un cuchillo por favor." (Son, a knife please!) And there's always the "¡No se hace aquí en Chile!" which means that whatever I'm doing at the time shouldn't be done in Chile.

Momma Patty works at La Universidad Técnica Federico Santa María as the personal secretary to some collegiate bigwig. I know she works hard because she always leaves before 8 in the morning and usually doesn't return until 7-8 in the evening. And she's always, ALWAYS dressed to impress. 

El Padre: Enrique

Perhaps my favorite picture of him. 

My Chilean dad is a neat individual. He's kind of like School of Hard Knocks meets ..... well, no he's pretty similar to School of Hard Knocks. Very often my siblings will begin a conversation from which ensues a quasi-argument between them and my Chilean dad wherein he has the benefit of experience on his side. I do a lot of listening when he talks, and from what I can tell he's not unlike any other dad: "back in my day..... kids these days..... why, my generation had to....." 

Firm hand aside, it's easy to see that Enrique loves his children and would do anything to see them succeed. 

He's always been nice to me and always tries to 

correct my only-to-often grammatical errors so 

that I don't look stupid in front of the rest of the world. 

Enrique has two jobs. He is a Veterinarian (dealing mostly with cats and dogs), and he's also a professor of veterinary medicine at La Universidad Viña del Mar. He leaves for classes at about 9 in the morning, coming home to have lunch with my siblings and me at 2, and then goes to his clinic every afternoon where he stays until usually 7-8 in the evening. 

Fun fact: Enrique likes spicy food and is always trying to get me to put some spicy sauce in my food. The one time he succeeded in convincing me it would be good, I felt like I had drank lava! Thus ended Colin accepting food suggestions from mi papá. 

El Hermano: Enrique (Enro)

My Chilean brother is awesome. The day I arrived he was the first person to let me know that if I ever needed anything, I could call him at anytime. Enro also speaks excellent English. During the first few weeks it wasn't uncommon for me to use him as a translator at times when I wasn't sure if my point was coming across exactly as I wanted it to, but things have gotten better. In fact, I usually try not to speak to him in English since that wouldn't help me learn spanish.

Enro is a whole month older than me and was very excited about this fact, since they've never had a gringo who was younger than him. He is also a university student at La Universidad de Andrés Bello. He was at a different university, but switched just as I arrived. I think he likes it okay. He is studying Ingeniería de Administración de Empresas, mención de Finanzas. I believe this is similar to Business Administration with a minor in Finance. 

Apart from school, my host brother loves soccer with a passion. He's also a self-taught guitarist and pianist, and like any college aged boy, he plays videogames. I really lucked out with having a host brother that is similar in age to me. When I arrived he spent two days showing me how to navigate the city's mass transit systems and labyrinth of streets, and never refuses to help me with my grammar as well. 

La Hermana: Macarena (Maka)

My Chilean sister is quite the character. They tell me she understands English and can speak fairly well, but she never does because she's a little embarrassed about her abilities. (I always think to myself "has she heard me speak Spanish?!") Either way, she's pretty fun. She's always very animated when she's telling us stories at the dinner table and she likes to mischievously pester her dad on a regular basis. Maka loves sushi! (Enro does too, he just doesn't mention it as much.)

Maka attends the same university where her mom works: La Universidad Técnica Federico Santa María. She's always telling me how bad the stairs are to get up to class, and after having walked down them once, I'm inclined to agree with her about the going up part. (No need to experience it myself, of course.) I do know that she is studying Ingeniería Diseño de Productos (Product design management?), and that the education riots last year put her behind a bit. 

Maka is the colorful one of the family. She always wears bright nail polish, an assortment of earrings and her fashion sense is always de la moda. I'm glad I have a little sister replacement here, although she's usually the one picking on me!

La Nana: Isabel (Nana)

Having Nana makes me spoiled. Well, the word used here in Chile is cuico, but let's not talk about that. I wish I knew a little more about Nana, but unfortunately I don't. I do know that she's been with this family for quite sometime (13ish years?) and she's part of the family. Now, I can't comment on what having a maid/nanny is like in the states but here it means that Nana works Monday through Saturday making our food, sweeping our floors, cleaning all the rooms, and doing laundry. My favorite thing about her is that she talks to the plants. When I asked my host parents about this, they assured me that Nana wasn't going crazy, rather just encouraging the plants to grow and be strong!

Like I said, I don't know that much about Nana since we don't talk very much. She speaks exceptionally fast and with a little bit of a dialect I don't quite understand. And for my part, my Spanish might as well be Chinese sometimes to her. We do manage to communicate the important things like "Do you have class today, should I pack you lunch?" and "Remember I change the sheets on Mondays so don't make your bed." (Yeah, I don't let Nana make my bed. I guess I'm not totally spoiled.) 

These are the people who I've had the privilege of living with and getting to know for about three months now. They're loving, zany, argumentative, and funny. They're my family.

And we won't say they're better than anyone else's host family-- or at least not out loud. :)

-Colin

Home is where there are people who love you

The best host mom in the world!

Now that it's been over two and a half months, I figure it's time for ya'll to "meet" my Chilean family!

First and foremost comes Mama Lorena. My host mom is the best one anyone could ask for. (Don't ask Colin though, he's pretty partial to Mama Patty...) Since the very first day I showed up when she greeted me with hugs and kisses at her door, she has never failed to ask me how I'm doing, how my day was, how classes are going, what my plans are, and most importantly, if I'm hungry. Every day. Several times a day. It goes without saying that it would be impossible for me to ever go hungry here, thanks to Mama Lorena. In fact, quite often I have more than I could possibly eat, since apparently the word "no" has no meaning here. That, or secretly it means "yes, please."

Let me give you an example:
*here I am, seated at a typical lunch in my house, table set, food in front of me, ready to eat.*
"Do you need anything, hija?"
"No, Mama, everything looks good."
"Are you sure? We have more meat if you want it..."
"No that's ok, this will be plenty."
"But you didn't eat very much for breakfast this morning."
"Don't worry, I'm not terribly hungry."
"Well... I'll just bring it out for you, just in case."
*at which point she brings a little plate just for me with some more meat on it, with extra silverware and another napkin just in case.*

Now, I'm not complaining, but it does make me laugh.

On top of taking care of the family,
Mama Lorena finds time to do fun things
like go ziplining!

When she's not making me delicious Chilean food for lunch, Lorena spends most of the rest of her day washing/drying/ironing our clothes, sweeping/mopping the floor, dusting, or washing dishes. How three people can make enough work to fill entire days, I'll never know. But then, I've never lived with Sidney before.














My host brother, Sidney, is 27 years old and a kinesiologist. Besides being a great host brother, he's also a walking tornado who could probably create enough housework for five people! He works most afternoons doing physical therapy with his patients, all of whom are over 60 years old. He's currently trying to spend his nights studying for a class that will certify him to do some other kind of therapy, but I'm not sure specifically. However, just like any good Chilean man, when there's a futbol game on, not even food can tear him away from the TV.

Like I said though, he's a great brother, and a fountain of knowledge for the confused foreigner living in his house. He invited Colin and I to his birthday party back in March, where we met his best friend, Francisco. The four of us have gotten together a few times to play Wii and had a blast together!

Knowing Sidney and Lorena, it doesn't surprise me that my "extended family" is equally welcoming and friendly. As I mentioned in the post about our trip to Patagonia, Lorena's daughter Loli and her family pretty much literally took us in off the street one night. Not many people are blessed to find themselves among friends 1400 miles from a place that's already 5000 miles from home, but Loli, Pablo, Benjamin, and Sofia welcomed us with open arms, fed us, talked to us, and even played play-doh with us before they drove us to the airport and sent us on our way back "home."

Loli, Sofia, Benjamin, and Pablo, who took in six gringos far from home

Sofia and I make the BEST play-doh animals!

And not just the younger generation is welcoming. For Mother's Day, Mama Lorena and I went to Los Andes to spend the day with her parents. My "grandparents" also welcomed me into their home, took me to lunch, and wouldn't take no for an answer to anything.

Me and the abuelitos, plus Mama Lorena's neice, Isadora

In short, I couldn't ask for a better Chilean family. I have been truly blessed in knowing them, and they have made this place a home away from home. 

With love from Chile,
Rachel

Government, minus a dictator.

It's hard to think about getting back into "school mode" when you have just seen mountains, but unfortunately we had to. After a day of rest, we continued our week with classes like normal. Somewhat of a cultural shock came Tuesday night when our professor announced that he would be changing the class time each week. We were upset about this, because Rachel worked rather hard to assure that we would not have classes on Monday or Friday. However, change it he did. We now have half the class on Monday at 12:20pm and the other half on Tuesday at 6:00pm (the original time). The reason he did this was to make it easier for more of our classmates to attend. Firstly, they shouldn't have signed up for a class they wouldn't be able to attend. Secondly, we had our first class on the new Monday time today, and there were even less people than usual. (Okay, I've now vented; but, this a very strange Chilean practice that I've never heard of in the States that I wanted to inform you all about.)

Last Friday a handful of other gringos, Rachel, and I had the chance to go to El Congreso Nacional (the Chilean legislative building). I was pretty impressed with the building itself, and also learning about Chilean government from our informative tour guide.

In general, Chile's government is very similar to that of the U.S. They have a President (executive branch), bicameral congress (legislative branch), and a supreme court (judicial branch) although I'm pretty sure the supreme court is independent of the other parts of government. Within congress you have los senadores (senators) and los diputados (deputies-very similar to representatives.) There are 38 senators and 120 diputados of varying parties. Fun Fact #1: the congress building is located in Valparaíso because that's where the ex-dictator of Chile, Augusto Pinochet, put it and they left it there ever after.

two rooms, two parts of congress, not (two) terribly different looking.

These days the Republic of Chile is a pretty tranquil place, politically speaking. Sure there are riots about varying problems every now and then, but overall I hear Chile is one of the (if not the) safest South American countries. For a more complete history and background on Chilean government, click here. ;)

A (copy) proclamation sent to Spain declaring the independence of Chile!

the signature of "the liberator." read all about him, here.

Oh-so-many stairs to get to the top.  the price of an education.

The rest of the day we spent wandering around Valparaíso and walking back to Viña del Mar. We did stop along the way to visit Universidad Técnica Federico Santa María, where my host mom works, and my host sister attends. This university is beautiful. My sister told me that the majority of the students there are on scholarship or have loans. We enjoyed wandering the campus and taking pictures before heading home.

Saturday morning we had to get up at some ungodly hour (7am) in order to catch a bus at 8:15 to go to La Campana, yet another national park! This place was gorgeous. I would say it was known for its palm trees, but our guide also boasted about the high(ish) mountain that is also visible in the park. The trek wasn't very hard and our group of gringos had more fun talking and taking silly pictures with each other. It was a wonderful trip, although we didn't have enough time in my opinion.
Fun Fact #2: Palm trees aren't really trees at all, but rather grass the grows together tightly intertwined.

Palm Trees everywhere! Our guide said it always reminded him of Jurassic Park.

Speaking of Jurassic Park..... (I did say we took silly pictures, did I not?)

Nobody loves a Palm Tree like Rachel loves a Palm Tree.

After we returned from the park, I went with my host family to Santiago to celebrate Mother's Day with my host dad's family. I had a wonderful time, and what's more, the extended family told me that I spoke Spanish very well. I was even able to get a cousin (12 year old Nacho) to teach me some useful Chilean slang. All in all we had a fabulous time and I was really glad to meet my host dad's family, especially his mother.

We are back to school again this week, but are perhaps thinking about traveling since we have a long weekend coming up. Either way we'll keep ya'll posted.

And a very special shout-out to our friend Kristen Clingan, who is in Honduras on a medical mission trip! Both Rachel and I are very proud of you and are praying for your success. (Just promise me you'll try and speak Spanish to everyone you meet!)

-Colin