Possibly the best thing about break is getting to read things you want to read. What has made this break even better is that I am not going back to school in January, and I find myself sitting here delightedly considering that I may just get to spend the rest of my life reading whatever I want. I imagine myself becoming the most informed and interesting person on the planet, simply by getting to read two books a week for the next sixty years.
Those of you who see me on a day to day basis may remember my brief but passionate affair with Nora Ephron's "I Feel Bad About My Neck" a few years ago. For a week I read excerpts to my friends and ran all over town begging people to read it. Thus you can imagine my delight when the wonderful Ruth Ross (who hears about nearly all of my literary encounters) informed me that there was a second book of humorous essays to be published by Miss Ephron. Merry Christmas to me.
Unfortunately, "I Remember Nothing" was a complete disappointment. I'm not kidding you, I started this book at 11:00 last night and finished it this morning at 11:30. Also, about nine and a half of those hours were spent sleeping. Of course this book was never meant to be deeply substantive. It is, after all, a collection of humorous essays. However, the Nora I met in "I Feel Bad About My Neck" was funny, snappy, and relatable. Her latest work seems to be, above else, a list of all of the fabulous people she knows and has known, and of her numerous career conquests. I did not laugh or even smile to myself. I also did not highlight a single thing, which to me is a harbinger of the work's general worthlessness.
What a mean first book review I am writing. I'm sorry. All I'm saying is, don't read "I Remember Nothing." Most of all, don't pay $22.95 for it.
You should, however, read Malcom Gladwell's "Outliers." If you (like me) aspire to become the most interesting and informed person on the planet by simply reading books, this is a good place to start.
Next on my list? Sloane Crosley's "How Did You Get This Number"
Fingers crossed it turns out better than "I Remember Nothing."
Monday, December 27, 2010
Thursday, December 23, 2010
Christmasy Comfort
Last weekend Ruth and I drove out to Boston to pick up our newly married friends Katharine and Matt. We got back yesterday night from our 18 hour road trip, so (as usual) I’ve got travel on the brain.
Of course Ruth and I went out to Boston to see other friends and as a sort of vacation for ourselves, but to me the trip felt based in Christmas—in the idea of getting our friends home to their families. Meanwhile, Sarah has been stuck in London trying to get out of Heathrow for the last five days. Day after day we got word of yet another one of her flights being cancelled, and I felt so far from her as she weathered disappointment after disappointment. Christmas drew nearer and it seemed she wouldn’t get a flight in time to be home.
It’s a CHRISTMAS MIRACLE! Sarah is winging over the Atlantic as I write this, headed for North America. In the car yesterday Katharine kept saying that she was so impressed by her parents—they did everything short of chartering their own plane to get Sarah home for Christmas. I can’t help but think of all the people who will not be able to get out of the UK for Christmas. I’m impacted by something I’ve taken for granted in past years: the importance of just making it home.
Right now my dad is driving, Sadie is on Austin’s lap (he has his headphones in as usual), and my mom is passed out in the front seat. We are flying down I-39 rocking out to the Amy Grant Christmas CD like we do every year, and like every year we are all kind of dreading a week at my grandparents house in the middle of nowhere with no internet.
As usual at least half of us forgot our cell phone chargers, and getting out of the house was a chaotic mess. Our hopeful departure time was 8 a.m., and as we tried to leave people kept yelling, “It’s 8:15!”….“It’s 8:25! Has everyone gone to the bathroom?” and then, with more tension, “It’s nine o’clock!! We finally got going around 9:30, and it’s stressful and a car is the last place I want to be after spending 18 hours on the road yesterday. Maybe it’s a cheesy message at Christmas, but in this moment it doesn’t matter that we’re off schedule or that nobody actually likes the Amy Grant Christmas CD. Our chaos is comfortable, and I’m thankful we’re all here sharing it together.
Of course Ruth and I went out to Boston to see other friends and as a sort of vacation for ourselves, but to me the trip felt based in Christmas—in the idea of getting our friends home to their families. Meanwhile, Sarah has been stuck in London trying to get out of Heathrow for the last five days. Day after day we got word of yet another one of her flights being cancelled, and I felt so far from her as she weathered disappointment after disappointment. Christmas drew nearer and it seemed she wouldn’t get a flight in time to be home.
It’s a CHRISTMAS MIRACLE! Sarah is winging over the Atlantic as I write this, headed for North America. In the car yesterday Katharine kept saying that she was so impressed by her parents—they did everything short of chartering their own plane to get Sarah home for Christmas. I can’t help but think of all the people who will not be able to get out of the UK for Christmas. I’m impacted by something I’ve taken for granted in past years: the importance of just making it home.
Right now my dad is driving, Sadie is on Austin’s lap (he has his headphones in as usual), and my mom is passed out in the front seat. We are flying down I-39 rocking out to the Amy Grant Christmas CD like we do every year, and like every year we are all kind of dreading a week at my grandparents house in the middle of nowhere with no internet.
As usual at least half of us forgot our cell phone chargers, and getting out of the house was a chaotic mess. Our hopeful departure time was 8 a.m., and as we tried to leave people kept yelling, “It’s 8:15!”….“It’s 8:25! Has everyone gone to the bathroom?” and then, with more tension, “It’s nine o’clock!! We finally got going around 9:30, and it’s stressful and a car is the last place I want to be after spending 18 hours on the road yesterday. Maybe it’s a cheesy message at Christmas, but in this moment it doesn’t matter that we’re off schedule or that nobody actually likes the Amy Grant Christmas CD. Our chaos is comfortable, and I’m thankful we’re all here sharing it together.
Sunday, December 12, 2010
The Paper to End All Papers
All Hope students have to turn in a "lifeview paper" before graduating. This paper should outline how your lifeview has been shaped by your education. It is to serve as a sort of "watermark" of where you stood at graduation. I have three days left to finish mine, and writing it has been an englightening experience.
It is quite possibly the most intimidating prompt I've ever had to respond to.
Here is the assighment:
Your lifeview paper should address the following questions: Who am I? Why am I here? How do I fit? What is the problem here? What is the solution? What is my faith stance? Why is it this stance? How does it fit with other faith stances and how do they fit with mine?
woah.
So anyway, in writing this I'm learning a lot about myself and being forced to dig into what I believe and explain it. I thought it might be cool to share a few excerpts with you here.
The climax of my education unfolded on a busy street corner in Mumbai standing outside the Dhobi Ghats. A little girl of about eight or nine years approached me holding a baby of less than six months, putting the tips of her fingers together and tapping them against her mouth. The baby’s eyes had been gouged out. Her keeper’s clothes were torn, her hair was nappy, and dirt was smeared across her face. Both she and the child she held were emaciated and clearly malnourished. While I had been in the country less than a week, I had already been approached hundreds of times by children making this motion, and the sight of poor children begging had already become commonplace. But this girl was not commonplace. She was dying. Not the sort of dying we are all doing with every moment that passes, but active, painful, organs-shutting-down dying. Tears welled up in my eyes, and I stood dumbfounded as this realization knocked the wind out of me. A knot rose in my stomach and my world stopped.
It really did, simple as that. A worldview is a created thing, and the walls of my carefully created worldview came crashing to the ground as if crumbled by a sudden earthquake. The damage was devastating and complete. And there on the street, I cried. I cried at the unfairness of it all, at the lack of hope that reflected off of her eyes into mine. I cried because she was powerless to change her situation, yes, but also because for the first time in my memory so was I. I cried because if I gave her money or food they would be taken by her owner, a person who most likely had control of thirty or forty other orphans like herself.
I cried because what I actually gave her was a purple crayon, and because when I did she looked at me with confused eyes. Eyes that said, “What the hell am I supposed to do with this?”
As I cried on the street in Mumbai the words pounding through my head were: I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m so so sorry.” I am not directly guilty. I am, however, sorry. I am filled with sadness, compassion, and empathy over the misfortune of another. This is the human heart. This is what makes poverty personal. How can I come to terms with the penetrating unfairness of the world? And how can I sleep at night knowing that in many ways my comfort comes at the price of someone else’s detriment?
The God that I had known (the one that protected myself and others from the tragedy of the world) vanished before my eyes, and in its place I was left with a God that did not make sense to me. I began to realize that the God to which I had unquestionably awarded my allegiance at a young age was a much more complex creature than I had previously created God to be. With the promise of Jeremiah 29:13 tucked securely in my pocket, (“You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart”) I set out to discover just who this mysterious creature was and what God was about.
Belief in God is sometimes looked down upon by intellectuals because it is illogical and God’s existence is, ultimately, improvable. But for me, belief in God is not the easy or comforting choice. I am a person of logic, who finds safety and comfort in explainable answers—concrete answers that make sense from every angle. But faith is messy and speculative and doubtful. These “big questions,” the questions of faith, bring me to my deepest vulnerabilities. I believe, as many do, that my faith today affects not only this life on earth but also my eternal fate. More than anything, this “faith vulnerability” makes me want to scream disrespectfully to my maker, “Look, if eternity is on the line, then we’re going to need some (f*#$ing) concrete answers down here!” With so much at stake, God’s mysterious and coy elusiveness is anything but charming.
So how did I find myself in the nonsensical religious camp? I don’t think it matters. Faith is a curious thing, and one way or another some of us wind up believing in God and some don’t. Despite all of my logical twistiness and confusing attempts to understand what God might be like, I feel deeply that my faith is not constructed by me. It is as if my faith already is, that it hums within me almost without my command or permission—a top that spins without having been set in motion. And here is the thought that is equally comforting and terrifying to me: perhaps my faith has been set in motion, but not by me. Perhaps it has been set in motion by God. It is mine, and it is both inside me and above me, but I did not create it.
That, my friends, that is a cool thought to think.
It is quite possibly the most intimidating prompt I've ever had to respond to.
Here is the assighment:
Your lifeview paper should address the following questions: Who am I? Why am I here? How do I fit? What is the problem here? What is the solution? What is my faith stance? Why is it this stance? How does it fit with other faith stances and how do they fit with mine?
woah.
So anyway, in writing this I'm learning a lot about myself and being forced to dig into what I believe and explain it. I thought it might be cool to share a few excerpts with you here.
The climax of my education unfolded on a busy street corner in Mumbai standing outside the Dhobi Ghats. A little girl of about eight or nine years approached me holding a baby of less than six months, putting the tips of her fingers together and tapping them against her mouth. The baby’s eyes had been gouged out. Her keeper’s clothes were torn, her hair was nappy, and dirt was smeared across her face. Both she and the child she held were emaciated and clearly malnourished. While I had been in the country less than a week, I had already been approached hundreds of times by children making this motion, and the sight of poor children begging had already become commonplace. But this girl was not commonplace. She was dying. Not the sort of dying we are all doing with every moment that passes, but active, painful, organs-shutting-down dying. Tears welled up in my eyes, and I stood dumbfounded as this realization knocked the wind out of me. A knot rose in my stomach and my world stopped.
It really did, simple as that. A worldview is a created thing, and the walls of my carefully created worldview came crashing to the ground as if crumbled by a sudden earthquake. The damage was devastating and complete. And there on the street, I cried. I cried at the unfairness of it all, at the lack of hope that reflected off of her eyes into mine. I cried because she was powerless to change her situation, yes, but also because for the first time in my memory so was I. I cried because if I gave her money or food they would be taken by her owner, a person who most likely had control of thirty or forty other orphans like herself.
I cried because what I actually gave her was a purple crayon, and because when I did she looked at me with confused eyes. Eyes that said, “What the hell am I supposed to do with this?”
As I cried on the street in Mumbai the words pounding through my head were: I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m so so sorry.” I am not directly guilty. I am, however, sorry. I am filled with sadness, compassion, and empathy over the misfortune of another. This is the human heart. This is what makes poverty personal. How can I come to terms with the penetrating unfairness of the world? And how can I sleep at night knowing that in many ways my comfort comes at the price of someone else’s detriment?
The God that I had known (the one that protected myself and others from the tragedy of the world) vanished before my eyes, and in its place I was left with a God that did not make sense to me. I began to realize that the God to which I had unquestionably awarded my allegiance at a young age was a much more complex creature than I had previously created God to be. With the promise of Jeremiah 29:13 tucked securely in my pocket, (“You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart”) I set out to discover just who this mysterious creature was and what God was about.
Belief in God is sometimes looked down upon by intellectuals because it is illogical and God’s existence is, ultimately, improvable. But for me, belief in God is not the easy or comforting choice. I am a person of logic, who finds safety and comfort in explainable answers—concrete answers that make sense from every angle. But faith is messy and speculative and doubtful. These “big questions,” the questions of faith, bring me to my deepest vulnerabilities. I believe, as many do, that my faith today affects not only this life on earth but also my eternal fate. More than anything, this “faith vulnerability” makes me want to scream disrespectfully to my maker, “Look, if eternity is on the line, then we’re going to need some (f*#$ing) concrete answers down here!” With so much at stake, God’s mysterious and coy elusiveness is anything but charming.
So how did I find myself in the nonsensical religious camp? I don’t think it matters. Faith is a curious thing, and one way or another some of us wind up believing in God and some don’t. Despite all of my logical twistiness and confusing attempts to understand what God might be like, I feel deeply that my faith is not constructed by me. It is as if my faith already is, that it hums within me almost without my command or permission—a top that spins without having been set in motion. And here is the thought that is equally comforting and terrifying to me: perhaps my faith has been set in motion, but not by me. Perhaps it has been set in motion by God. It is mine, and it is both inside me and above me, but I did not create it.
That, my friends, that is a cool thought to think.
Friday, December 3, 2010
Real Life: Take 1
Some of you may have noticed that my blog has a new title (ok, let's face it, only my Mom notices these things). With this new title comes a new chapter in my life--the first I can remember not being a student. One of my previous posts while in Chile was titled "All This, Every Day," a phrase stolen from a poem in an Anne Lamott book. This title, like most things in my life, was given to me, and the title itself reflects recognition of abundance.
My entire adult life (albeit short) has thus far centered on abundance, on realization of how deeply blessed I am. I hope it doesn't sound trite; I genuinely seem to be stuck on this thought. I have two weeks left until my graduation from college. COLLEGE. I thought I would be so much more mature by the time I got to this point, but that is neither here nor there. While my school-hating peers count down the days, I count with them. But my counting is heavy, sometimes full of dread and fear.
I am with Meg Ryan's character in "You've Got Mail" on this one: I love the smell of a freshly sharpened bouquet of pencils. I love new folders and notebooks; I love the promise of a clean slate and a new semester. I love that in school my job is to investigate, to sit and listen and soak up this intriguing and complex world of ours.
So although I am mourning the end of my formal education and of the comfort and security of school, I embark (like many of my peers) scared but hopeful. Scared because for the past 16 years I have been doing a job I was good at, and I am starting one that I might not do as well or enjoy as much as I did school. Hopeful because I am now totally adrift, free to do pretty much whatever I want! (As long as it's free.)
My blog is titled "All This, Every Day," as a reminder that we have been truly gifted. Is thankfulness a spiritual gift? I don't think so, but if it were I would want to have that one. Gratitude is praising God for what we have been given, but tonight what I'm grateful for is gratitude itself. The gift of gratitude fills my routine with breath and peace, as if God's hand is resting open on my chest, slowing my caffinated heartbeat and saying to me, "Be still. Look around you."
I travel a lot, which despite its perks often means I meet a lot of people, love a lot of people, and leave a lot of people. It is so hard to miss a place, and to miss the people of that place. I miss Chile deeply and desperately, sometimes my breath gets fast and I feel like I'm suffocating with longing to go back. In many ways, this "missing" was the theme of my semester. I miss the view of the Andes out my front door and the familiar route to class. But when my heart starts racing and the "jungle drums start beating" (Anne Lamott again), I come back to gratitude, and rest in the image of a very large God making his hand small enough to fit right over my heart. I imagine him slowing my pace to his pace, making my hearbeats calm and steady, hopeful and expectant.
...This blog got mushier than I expected.
So here is the next chapter: on January 19, I am moving to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico for 6 months. By the grace of God, I somehow have a post-grad plan (SERIOUSLY: GRACE). I have an internship with a company by the name of PEACE. PEACE is a NGO founded by an American about 10 years ago, and they have recently started a microfinance branch of their organization. For those of you who might not be familiar with microfinance, it is a poverty-alleviation strategy that provides small loans for clients looking to expand a business they've started. Usually these loans help make businesses profitable, and can be instrumental in the economic development both of families and of cities. (Most of the clients are women who did not finish high school.) I am SO excited to be a part of this!
Again I ask for your prayers, especially for safety, since Mexico's government has been a little...shall we say...unstable as of late. I'm hoping to keep updating the blog with my experiences, both exciting and frustrating. But for now, I've got two last research papers to write and my last two final exams to study for. Maybe I'm not so into school after all...
My entire adult life (albeit short) has thus far centered on abundance, on realization of how deeply blessed I am. I hope it doesn't sound trite; I genuinely seem to be stuck on this thought. I have two weeks left until my graduation from college. COLLEGE. I thought I would be so much more mature by the time I got to this point, but that is neither here nor there. While my school-hating peers count down the days, I count with them. But my counting is heavy, sometimes full of dread and fear.
I am with Meg Ryan's character in "You've Got Mail" on this one: I love the smell of a freshly sharpened bouquet of pencils. I love new folders and notebooks; I love the promise of a clean slate and a new semester. I love that in school my job is to investigate, to sit and listen and soak up this intriguing and complex world of ours.
So although I am mourning the end of my formal education and of the comfort and security of school, I embark (like many of my peers) scared but hopeful. Scared because for the past 16 years I have been doing a job I was good at, and I am starting one that I might not do as well or enjoy as much as I did school. Hopeful because I am now totally adrift, free to do pretty much whatever I want! (As long as it's free.)
My blog is titled "All This, Every Day," as a reminder that we have been truly gifted. Is thankfulness a spiritual gift? I don't think so, but if it were I would want to have that one. Gratitude is praising God for what we have been given, but tonight what I'm grateful for is gratitude itself. The gift of gratitude fills my routine with breath and peace, as if God's hand is resting open on my chest, slowing my caffinated heartbeat and saying to me, "Be still. Look around you."
I travel a lot, which despite its perks often means I meet a lot of people, love a lot of people, and leave a lot of people. It is so hard to miss a place, and to miss the people of that place. I miss Chile deeply and desperately, sometimes my breath gets fast and I feel like I'm suffocating with longing to go back. In many ways, this "missing" was the theme of my semester. I miss the view of the Andes out my front door and the familiar route to class. But when my heart starts racing and the "jungle drums start beating" (Anne Lamott again), I come back to gratitude, and rest in the image of a very large God making his hand small enough to fit right over my heart. I imagine him slowing my pace to his pace, making my hearbeats calm and steady, hopeful and expectant.
...This blog got mushier than I expected.
So here is the next chapter: on January 19, I am moving to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico for 6 months. By the grace of God, I somehow have a post-grad plan (SERIOUSLY: GRACE). I have an internship with a company by the name of PEACE. PEACE is a NGO founded by an American about 10 years ago, and they have recently started a microfinance branch of their organization. For those of you who might not be familiar with microfinance, it is a poverty-alleviation strategy that provides small loans for clients looking to expand a business they've started. Usually these loans help make businesses profitable, and can be instrumental in the economic development both of families and of cities. (Most of the clients are women who did not finish high school.) I am SO excited to be a part of this!
Again I ask for your prayers, especially for safety, since Mexico's government has been a little...shall we say...unstable as of late. I'm hoping to keep updating the blog with my experiences, both exciting and frustrating. But for now, I've got two last research papers to write and my last two final exams to study for. Maybe I'm not so into school after all...
Sunday, July 11, 2010
Que Aprendí
Everybody leaves Chile tomorrow. I leave Wednesday. While the 12th is official "program ending" day, I thought I would give myself a few more days to tie up loose ends, see friends, and buy gifts for people (don't get your hopes up, I'm broke). I am kind of regretting the decision to stay two extra days. While I wish I could stay forever, Chile isn't Chile without everyone here that I know and love. Everyone leaves Monday night and then I will just be here hanging out alone for two days :( Anyway, enough whining. I am truly excited to get back to the US--friends, family, summer, and all the yummy food I've been missing since February. If you will be in Sycamore between this coming Thursday the 15th and the end of August, give me a call, I want to see you!
We had a re-entry workshop a week or so ago with CIEE and it actually really helped me. I guess they are experts in sending sad little gringos back to the states after a life-changing semester. We had to make lists, and you know how I love lists. They were 1. What we will miss about Chile (friends, the city life, speaking spanish) 2. What we are looking forward to about home (family and friends, food, summer, life being easy and comfortable) 3. What has changed at home since we left (my parents are moving out of my house, old friends made new friends or moved on while we were gone) and 4. How we have changed while we were here. While is was interesting to compare lists with everyone and englightening to see what ended up on my own lists, list number 4 was by far the most telling.
I have learned SO SO much! In this final blog I am going to close out the semester by reviewing the most important thigns that I learned.
1. I learned how to fail. Ohhh I failed so much. I failed many times at understanding people's Spanish, at speaking Spanish myself, at getting the good grades I am accustomed to getting, and at knowing what was going on in general. Because I was put in a completely new environment with limited "survival knowledge" and cultural experience, I made a lot of mistakes and learned a lot of things the embarrassing way. I am the type of person that works hard until I succeed at everything I do. I'm not used to failure. Thus it was humbling that at times I really did try my hardest and still didn't add up or accomplish all I wanted. I learned that it is okay sometimes not to be the best at everything, and whether you succeed at something or fail miserably each experience can teach you something and help you grow in some way.
2. I learned how to speak Spanish! This was the most challenging but most rewarding thing I did this semester. Finally all those years of grammar and language classes paid off. I found that while the task of learning a language in the classroom was about my least favorite thing ever, speaking and applying the language was a great joy. Not only did I stop referring to myself in the masculine tense, but I went from being a nervous, formal speaker to one that is comfortable and relaxed. At the beginning the other Americans and I spoke to each other in English, but towards the end we have switched to Spanish as we know we have little time left to be speaking and hearing this language. It has become a part of the way I see myself and interpret the world, and I think speaking Spanish will be the thing I miss most once I am gone.
3. I learned how to operate in ambiguous situations. In a new country and a new language, there are just so many moments where something happens and you look up and go "Wait, what!?!" Also there are moments when you think you know what's going on and end up learning you are very confused. I'm not really sure this idea is clear and I can't think of any examples, but I think now I am much better at going with the flow and figuring things out as they happen. Also, I am a much more relaxed person. I started off the semester sitting on the bus in traffic freaking out that I would be late, and now I leave my house 15 minutes after I should thinking, "Ehh, I'll get there when I get there!" :D
Well, my heart is a bundle of crazy conflicting emotions right now. In half an hour I am going to see Cristian for the last time, and tomorrow I have to say goodbye to my best friends of the past 5 months. What an amazing 5 months it has been. I am a more mature and capable person than I was when I left Sycamore, and am excited for the adventure that God has for me in the future. I wonder where I will end up? In August I will start my final semester at Hope, graduate in December, and in January be totally adrift, with the possibilities wide open! I am filled to overflowing with thankfulness for the blessing of this semester, and looking forward to the challenges ahead.
Thank you for reading and keeping up with my life this semester. I know a blog is a one-way interaction, and at times I have been really bad at communicating with everyone. I can't wait to catch up with each and every one of you and hear what has been happening the past 5 months in YOUR lives! I am truly blessed to be surrounded by the friends and family that I am. Hopefully I will be blogging to you all again soon--on yet another global adventure!
With all the love in Chile,
Amy
We had a re-entry workshop a week or so ago with CIEE and it actually really helped me. I guess they are experts in sending sad little gringos back to the states after a life-changing semester. We had to make lists, and you know how I love lists. They were 1. What we will miss about Chile (friends, the city life, speaking spanish) 2. What we are looking forward to about home (family and friends, food, summer, life being easy and comfortable) 3. What has changed at home since we left (my parents are moving out of my house, old friends made new friends or moved on while we were gone) and 4. How we have changed while we were here. While is was interesting to compare lists with everyone and englightening to see what ended up on my own lists, list number 4 was by far the most telling.
I have learned SO SO much! In this final blog I am going to close out the semester by reviewing the most important thigns that I learned.
1. I learned how to fail. Ohhh I failed so much. I failed many times at understanding people's Spanish, at speaking Spanish myself, at getting the good grades I am accustomed to getting, and at knowing what was going on in general. Because I was put in a completely new environment with limited "survival knowledge" and cultural experience, I made a lot of mistakes and learned a lot of things the embarrassing way. I am the type of person that works hard until I succeed at everything I do. I'm not used to failure. Thus it was humbling that at times I really did try my hardest and still didn't add up or accomplish all I wanted. I learned that it is okay sometimes not to be the best at everything, and whether you succeed at something or fail miserably each experience can teach you something and help you grow in some way.
2. I learned how to speak Spanish! This was the most challenging but most rewarding thing I did this semester. Finally all those years of grammar and language classes paid off. I found that while the task of learning a language in the classroom was about my least favorite thing ever, speaking and applying the language was a great joy. Not only did I stop referring to myself in the masculine tense, but I went from being a nervous, formal speaker to one that is comfortable and relaxed. At the beginning the other Americans and I spoke to each other in English, but towards the end we have switched to Spanish as we know we have little time left to be speaking and hearing this language. It has become a part of the way I see myself and interpret the world, and I think speaking Spanish will be the thing I miss most once I am gone.
3. I learned how to operate in ambiguous situations. In a new country and a new language, there are just so many moments where something happens and you look up and go "Wait, what!?!" Also there are moments when you think you know what's going on and end up learning you are very confused. I'm not really sure this idea is clear and I can't think of any examples, but I think now I am much better at going with the flow and figuring things out as they happen. Also, I am a much more relaxed person. I started off the semester sitting on the bus in traffic freaking out that I would be late, and now I leave my house 15 minutes after I should thinking, "Ehh, I'll get there when I get there!" :D
Well, my heart is a bundle of crazy conflicting emotions right now. In half an hour I am going to see Cristian for the last time, and tomorrow I have to say goodbye to my best friends of the past 5 months. What an amazing 5 months it has been. I am a more mature and capable person than I was when I left Sycamore, and am excited for the adventure that God has for me in the future. I wonder where I will end up? In August I will start my final semester at Hope, graduate in December, and in January be totally adrift, with the possibilities wide open! I am filled to overflowing with thankfulness for the blessing of this semester, and looking forward to the challenges ahead.
Thank you for reading and keeping up with my life this semester. I know a blog is a one-way interaction, and at times I have been really bad at communicating with everyone. I can't wait to catch up with each and every one of you and hear what has been happening the past 5 months in YOUR lives! I am truly blessed to be surrounded by the friends and family that I am. Hopefully I will be blogging to you all again soon--on yet another global adventure!
With all the love in Chile,
Amy
Sunday, June 27, 2010
Chaucito a Chilito
We started off our time here marking off every Wednesday. I arrived Wednesday, February 17, and after that every Wednesday someone would usually take note and say, "Hey, we've been here __ weeks." The first week I remember thinking I had learned more in a week than in a month at home. I remember thinking how much had changed in just a short week. We stopped keeping track after about a month, and then time took off running and now I find myself attending goodbye dinners and taking final exams. It's been something like 18 or 19 weeks, but we stopped keeping track long ago. I have 16 days left in South America and only 9 in Santiago. The picture below is the view I see of the mountains every morning when I step out of my front door-breathtaking! How could I leave?!
The combination of finals week stress and the emotional stress of leaving my home is wiping me out (although-surprise, Chilean school has finals for two weeks!). I cry at the drop of a hat, and have spent a lot of time trying to put my finger on what it is that makes leaving so emotional. I knew this day would come didn't I? And how could I have made such strong relationships in five fast months?
The truth is that studying in a foreign country changes you. It changes the way you see the world, but even more profound than that, it changes the way you see yourself. I told my friend Meagan today that I think I'm having an identity crisis. I have learned, grown, and changed so much over the last five months. I am sad to leave Santiago because it is my home! I have created a life for myself here: I go to school, have a house, a family, a boyfriend, friends, a routine, etc. Switching schools is hard, or leaving friends is hard, but I am leaving my whole life. Granted, it is a new life, but my life all the same.
Also, I am going back to a life that is familiar but foreign. I have realized that the reason the frienships I have made here are so strong is because we went through a really tough and intense experience together, and that has bonded us so closely faster than I can believe. I am going back to you guys, to friends and family that know me very well, and on one level I am excited. At the same time though, I feel like I am going back to friends and family that have an incomplete understanding of who I am. My heart has a little Chilean part to it now, and it makes me scared to think that no one will understand that part of me.
Te quiero Chilito: The Chilean flag waving proudly as we crossed the border back into Chile from Argentina.
Bueno, maybe this all sounds dramatic. A few years ago, I realized the following: You are alone in your head your whole life. That is not supposed to be as depressing as it sounds. I'm not sure what caused it to dawn on me, but at some point I saw this so clearly. I think when I was little I used to think I would meet my future husband, and he would know just everything about me. He would always understand what I was feeling, and there would be no part of me that he wouldn't know. I think as people we all really yearn for that--to be truly and deeply known (something that makes being truly known by God so rich, no?). Anyway, I realize now that even my closest family and friends will never be able to completely know and understand every part of who I am. So I guess it's like that for everyone in some dimension, my emotions are just heightened because Chile is a part of me that rushed into my life all at once and will end all at once too.
Anyway, I will be wrapping up this chapter of my life pretty quickly here. I am now done with going to classes, and have to write 2 papers for Wednesday and then I am DONE! I can see the end of the tunnel now, and as far as classes go that feels good! We joke here that taking classes in English next fall is going to be super easy compared to the experience of the last semester. My friend Justin said something along the lines of "I can't imagine walking out of class and having understood everything the prof said, or getting a syllabus and not having to translate parts of it!" Bascially its going to be awesome.
After I hand in those papers on Wednesday (one has to be 15 pages single spaced, and the other 5--all in Spanish of course!), I am heading to PERU early Thursday morning to see Machu Picchu and make sure I come home completely broke instad of just almost broke. After returning from Peru on July 8, I have just six short days to soak as much Santiago into my skin before flying home. I want you all to know I love you (even if you will never fully understand my Santiaguino side), and hope this blog hasn't left anybody doubting my love for the good 'ole US of A. I've just gotta lotta conflicting emotions bopping around in myself!
Be well,
Amy
P.S. Who scheduled the World Cup for finals week(s)?!?! I LOVE living in a country where people care about soccer. It's been so fun and I'm really getting into it. Unfortunately the USA was disqualified, but tomorrow CHILE plays Brasil. Its going to be rough...but all of Santiago comes even more alive and takes to the streets when Chile plays, so I'll be face-painted and rioting with the best of 'em. Here are a few pics from the last game. There are huge screens set up all over the city, and people stand and watch together. The energy in the crowd is amazing!
Watching in front of the "White House" of Chile, La Moneda:
Gringos show their Roja pride:
The combination of finals week stress and the emotional stress of leaving my home is wiping me out (although-surprise, Chilean school has finals for two weeks!). I cry at the drop of a hat, and have spent a lot of time trying to put my finger on what it is that makes leaving so emotional. I knew this day would come didn't I? And how could I have made such strong relationships in five fast months?
The truth is that studying in a foreign country changes you. It changes the way you see the world, but even more profound than that, it changes the way you see yourself. I told my friend Meagan today that I think I'm having an identity crisis. I have learned, grown, and changed so much over the last five months. I am sad to leave Santiago because it is my home! I have created a life for myself here: I go to school, have a house, a family, a boyfriend, friends, a routine, etc. Switching schools is hard, or leaving friends is hard, but I am leaving my whole life. Granted, it is a new life, but my life all the same.
Also, I am going back to a life that is familiar but foreign. I have realized that the reason the frienships I have made here are so strong is because we went through a really tough and intense experience together, and that has bonded us so closely faster than I can believe. I am going back to you guys, to friends and family that know me very well, and on one level I am excited. At the same time though, I feel like I am going back to friends and family that have an incomplete understanding of who I am. My heart has a little Chilean part to it now, and it makes me scared to think that no one will understand that part of me.
Te quiero Chilito: The Chilean flag waving proudly as we crossed the border back into Chile from Argentina.
Bueno, maybe this all sounds dramatic. A few years ago, I realized the following: You are alone in your head your whole life. That is not supposed to be as depressing as it sounds. I'm not sure what caused it to dawn on me, but at some point I saw this so clearly. I think when I was little I used to think I would meet my future husband, and he would know just everything about me. He would always understand what I was feeling, and there would be no part of me that he wouldn't know. I think as people we all really yearn for that--to be truly and deeply known (something that makes being truly known by God so rich, no?). Anyway, I realize now that even my closest family and friends will never be able to completely know and understand every part of who I am. So I guess it's like that for everyone in some dimension, my emotions are just heightened because Chile is a part of me that rushed into my life all at once and will end all at once too.
Anyway, I will be wrapping up this chapter of my life pretty quickly here. I am now done with going to classes, and have to write 2 papers for Wednesday and then I am DONE! I can see the end of the tunnel now, and as far as classes go that feels good! We joke here that taking classes in English next fall is going to be super easy compared to the experience of the last semester. My friend Justin said something along the lines of "I can't imagine walking out of class and having understood everything the prof said, or getting a syllabus and not having to translate parts of it!" Bascially its going to be awesome.
After I hand in those papers on Wednesday (one has to be 15 pages single spaced, and the other 5--all in Spanish of course!), I am heading to PERU early Thursday morning to see Machu Picchu and make sure I come home completely broke instad of just almost broke. After returning from Peru on July 8, I have just six short days to soak as much Santiago into my skin before flying home. I want you all to know I love you (even if you will never fully understand my Santiaguino side), and hope this blog hasn't left anybody doubting my love for the good 'ole US of A. I've just gotta lotta conflicting emotions bopping around in myself!
Be well,
Amy
P.S. Who scheduled the World Cup for finals week(s)?!?! I LOVE living in a country where people care about soccer. It's been so fun and I'm really getting into it. Unfortunately the USA was disqualified, but tomorrow CHILE plays Brasil. Its going to be rough...but all of Santiago comes even more alive and takes to the streets when Chile plays, so I'll be face-painted and rioting with the best of 'em. Here are a few pics from the last game. There are huge screens set up all over the city, and people stand and watch together. The energy in the crowd is amazing!
Watching in front of the "White House" of Chile, La Moneda:
Gringos show their Roja pride:
Thursday, June 10, 2010
MRI Update
As some of you already know...I got the MRI results back and they are completely normal! This doesn't necessarily mean that there are no problems (my Mom's Multiple Sclerosis went undetected on MRIs for about 12 years) but for now the doctor here thinks we have no reason to worry. I will follow up with more doctors appts once back in the States, but for now I'm just going to focus on enjoying the rest of my time here in Chile. That starts this weekend--I'm going to Mendoza, Argentina for a few days with a few friends. Besides the excitement of adding another stamp to my passport, I am excited about the drive. We are taking a bus and to cross the border we will drive through the Andes (the mountain range creates the natural border between Chile and Argentina). Especially with all the recent snow on the mountains, it should prove to be a beautiful drive. Also the exchange rate in Argentina is a lot more forgiving than it is in Chile, gracias a Dios! Anyway, for now I'm just relieved the MRI was okay. Now just waiting for the feeling to come back in my leg...ha. Thank you all for your throughts, concerns, and prayers!
Love from South America,
Amy
Love from South America,
Amy
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
Enamorada de Chile
Its been a crazy past couple of weeks. On May 16, my Mom, her sister Janet, and our family friend Natalie arrived to visit for a week. We had an awesome time, and I was hugely blessed to be able to share with them this place that is now my home, this place I have come to love so much. It is really true that I have come to love Chile. The other day I was talking to my friend Justin from my program, and he was saying that he did not love Santiago right away, that it was more of a process of Santiago generally growing on him. I agreed that I felt the same. In my first weeks and months I was certainly having an awesome time, and loving the experience of being here, but I cant say that I loved the city from the very beginning. But while I did not walk off the plane in love with Chile, a general love of Chile and of Santiago has slowly sunk into me, leaving me standing here today wondering at what point my perspective changed and how it can be that this is now my home.
While showing my Mom and the girls around the city, it was at first really shocking to me when they didn't "get" Chile. They kept seeing cultural differences and responding like, "Yes, but if you did it this way..." After the first few days with them I had to change my perspective. I had had over 3 months to get used to the differences, but to them everything had changed all at once. I think I got a little too excited for their visit, because before they came I planned an intinerary for each of the days they would be here so that we could be sure to fit in everything they needed to see. This kind of stressed them out, as I set an inhuman pace and kept yelling back at them that if they didn't hurry up we would not have time for __________ (insert interesting Santiaguino experience here). I dragged them, wheezing, up hills with sights of the city, and made sure they didn't linger too long at museum exhibits. Needless to say, we returned exhausted every night to the hotel, and I think they came to loathe the itinerary. What can I say? I've got Goldsmith blood in me, and we always say that in our family we don't "enjoy" vacation, we "accomplish" vacation. And accomplish we did.
I spend the weekend on the coast in Valparaíso with my Mom, Janet, and Natalie, and they left on Sunday morning. Last week I had much less homework since I had just finished like 1,000 exams, presentations, and papers (not to be dramatic or anything). I enjoyed the week and also really enjoyed being in the city all weekend. I hadn't been home for a weekend in about a month, since the two weekends before were with my mom, the one before that in San Pedro de Atacama, and the one before that doing Techo para Chile. I am now really feeling successful in my Spanish. I can now listen to two people talk at once and catch most of it, and can write notes in my classes while still listening to the prof say something different. I dream in Spanish, and it is now such a part of me that I'm convinced I will be infinitely depressed when I get back to the States. I never want my time here to end!
Many of you have probably heard that I have been having some medical problems recently. Sunday morning around 4a.m. my left thigh went to sleep and never woke up. Obviously it really freaked me out that I couldn't feel part of my leg, so finally Sunday night I went to the emergency room after my leg being all "pins and needles-ey" for more than 12 hours. The doctors said normally something like this would be attributed to a pinched nerve, but the numbness I am experiencing is in such a large area that it would have to be 5 or 6 pinched nerves, which is very unlikely. The pattern of my numbness does not follow a specific nerve or nerves. This leads them to think that there might be more serious issues, such as Multiple Sclerosis or other spinal/cerebral legions or demilanization. I am going in for an MRI today and hoping that if there are spinal or cerebral problems, they are hugely visible to the doctors, because as many of you probably know issues like MS can go undetected for years. Anyway, I'm in pretty good spirits and trying not to freak out prematurely. We should get the MRI results about 48 hours after the exam, so I will let you all know later this week what I hear. I would really appreciate your prayers.
Anyway, I guess that's all the latest news. I keep trying to put new pictures up on facebook and the program never works, so I'm not really sure what to do about that. I hope you are all well there in the States, and enjoying the warm weather! I am definitely jealous since Chile is now moving into winter. Bendiciones!
Amy
While showing my Mom and the girls around the city, it was at first really shocking to me when they didn't "get" Chile. They kept seeing cultural differences and responding like, "Yes, but if you did it this way..." After the first few days with them I had to change my perspective. I had had over 3 months to get used to the differences, but to them everything had changed all at once. I think I got a little too excited for their visit, because before they came I planned an intinerary for each of the days they would be here so that we could be sure to fit in everything they needed to see. This kind of stressed them out, as I set an inhuman pace and kept yelling back at them that if they didn't hurry up we would not have time for __________ (insert interesting Santiaguino experience here). I dragged them, wheezing, up hills with sights of the city, and made sure they didn't linger too long at museum exhibits. Needless to say, we returned exhausted every night to the hotel, and I think they came to loathe the itinerary. What can I say? I've got Goldsmith blood in me, and we always say that in our family we don't "enjoy" vacation, we "accomplish" vacation. And accomplish we did.
I spend the weekend on the coast in Valparaíso with my Mom, Janet, and Natalie, and they left on Sunday morning. Last week I had much less homework since I had just finished like 1,000 exams, presentations, and papers (not to be dramatic or anything). I enjoyed the week and also really enjoyed being in the city all weekend. I hadn't been home for a weekend in about a month, since the two weekends before were with my mom, the one before that in San Pedro de Atacama, and the one before that doing Techo para Chile. I am now really feeling successful in my Spanish. I can now listen to two people talk at once and catch most of it, and can write notes in my classes while still listening to the prof say something different. I dream in Spanish, and it is now such a part of me that I'm convinced I will be infinitely depressed when I get back to the States. I never want my time here to end!
Many of you have probably heard that I have been having some medical problems recently. Sunday morning around 4a.m. my left thigh went to sleep and never woke up. Obviously it really freaked me out that I couldn't feel part of my leg, so finally Sunday night I went to the emergency room after my leg being all "pins and needles-ey" for more than 12 hours. The doctors said normally something like this would be attributed to a pinched nerve, but the numbness I am experiencing is in such a large area that it would have to be 5 or 6 pinched nerves, which is very unlikely. The pattern of my numbness does not follow a specific nerve or nerves. This leads them to think that there might be more serious issues, such as Multiple Sclerosis or other spinal/cerebral legions or demilanization. I am going in for an MRI today and hoping that if there are spinal or cerebral problems, they are hugely visible to the doctors, because as many of you probably know issues like MS can go undetected for years. Anyway, I'm in pretty good spirits and trying not to freak out prematurely. We should get the MRI results about 48 hours after the exam, so I will let you all know later this week what I hear. I would really appreciate your prayers.
Anyway, I guess that's all the latest news. I keep trying to put new pictures up on facebook and the program never works, so I'm not really sure what to do about that. I hope you are all well there in the States, and enjoying the warm weather! I am definitely jealous since Chile is now moving into winter. Bendiciones!
Amy
Sunday, May 9, 2010
San Pedro de Atacama
Well, I just got back from San Pedro de Atacama for the weekend, and I have to say it was one of the most unique parts of Chile I have visited so far. Located waaaay up north close to the border of Bolivia, San Pedro is pure desert. Instead of a landscape characterized by mountains in the background, San Pedro de Atacama is surrounded by volcanoes. It is home to one of the most important astronomical observatories in the world—apparently SPA is one of the best places to see the southern hemisphere’s night sky. The area is also rich in minerals, housing the world’s largest copper mine, Chuquicamata. On top of all this, there are also large salt flats, a flamingo reserve, and the famous Valle de la Luna. We visited all of these!
We started our trip by leaving Santiago at 3 a.m. Friday morning. I stupidly decided that since I probably wouldn’t fall asleep until midnight anyway, and had to leave for the airport at 2 a.m., it wasn’t worth going to sleep. So Thursday night was spent watching a movie with friends, and we went straight from their house to the airport. I was so so tired! After arriving at the airport in Calama around 7:30 and quickly downing insanely unhealthy amounts of caffeine, we set off for Chuquicamata. I have to say, I was not particularly stoked to visit a giant copper mine, but then I found out we got to wear hard hats and I jumped on board. Chuquicamata was interesting for a number of reasons. For one, copper is basically the key to Chile’s riches. The copper industry has been nationalized since the early 1970’s, and this nationalization actually seems to really be working for the country. Chile produces around 35% percent of the world’s copper (if I remember correctly) and Chuquicamata mines about 50% of the copper en Chile. Pretty amazing, huh? The first picture below is of our group in front of one of the trucks they use to haul the copper. One of those trucks costs 4 million dollars, and they last about 10 years.
The next picture is of one of the giant holes from which they mine. There is probably more technical language for this...anyway, it was HUGE, and there are like 5 of these from which they are currently digging.
Friday night part of the group went on an astrological tour. San Pedro is so far away from any semblance of civilization, that the stars are incredibly bright. I had never seen anything like it before. The star tour cost about $24 so since my bank account is so sad these days I decided not to go. However, our group’s guide ended up knowing a lot about the stars and constellations, so we did our own unofficial tour, and he pointed out the constellations that are the biggest deal in the Southern Hemisphere like the Southern Cross and the Tres Marias.
Saturday I started the day by giving thanks to God for a full night’s sleep (haha), and then headed out to do a bike tour of Incan ruins in the area. Since San Pedro de Atacama is so much farther north (read: closer to the equator) than Santiago, it was really warm during the days, and so it was really nice to be out in the sun riding along the beautiful desert landscape. Below is a picture from our bike ride (we had to carry our bikes across that river!):
Later that same day, we went to La Valle de La Luna (The Valley of the Moon) and watched an incredible sunset play out over the peaks and craters of the valley. As you might have guessed, it is called La Valle de La Luna because it looks like the surface of the moon. Yesterday morning, we were up and at ‘em by 8 a.m. to see the Salar de Atacama—the largest salt deposit in Chile, and home to three different species of flamingos. The landscape of the salt surrounded by volcanoes was incredible, but with flamingoes added it was even more beautiful. The flamingoes were not as pink as they are at the zoo. We learned that this is because in zoos they feed flamingoes huge amounts of beta carotene to make them that color. Usually in nature they are not actually that bright pink—interesting huh? Anyway, here is a picture from Valle de la Luna:
I think the thing that impacted me the most this weekend was the realization that this is a living and breathing earth we live on. The impact of realizing how small I am in comparison to the stars was the beginning Friday night, and the rest of the weekend continued with information on and visits to natural and geological processes and places. We visited a huge deposit of copper and other minerals, learned that the crazy red hills we saw on our bike tour were created by pressure and plates pushing up against each other, visited a valley with craters like the surface of the moon, saw smoke coming out of an active volcano, drove through miles and miles of desert without any plant or animal life, saw Saturn without the aid of a telescope, and visited the most expansive salt flats in Chile. I was struck by how ALIVE the earth is—it is constantly changing, and it is so diverse! This is especially evident in a long, skinny country like Chile, which is made up of desert in the north, ocean to the west, the Andes Mountains to the east, and the forested, unique landscapes of Patagonia to the south.
I am truly blessed to be in a country so vibrant and unique not only in its landscape, but also in its language, culture, and history. Next adventure? Finishing this 20-page boar of a paper I’ve been whining about for the last two weeks. That's due on Wednesday, and then I have a midterm on Friday worth 50% of my Conflicto Armado grade (no pressure). However, if I make it through this next week I get a big reward at the end—my Mom, Aunt, and close family friend Natalie are all arriving Sunday! I can’t wait to show them all around my new home.
Until next time,
Amy
We started our trip by leaving Santiago at 3 a.m. Friday morning. I stupidly decided that since I probably wouldn’t fall asleep until midnight anyway, and had to leave for the airport at 2 a.m., it wasn’t worth going to sleep. So Thursday night was spent watching a movie with friends, and we went straight from their house to the airport. I was so so tired! After arriving at the airport in Calama around 7:30 and quickly downing insanely unhealthy amounts of caffeine, we set off for Chuquicamata. I have to say, I was not particularly stoked to visit a giant copper mine, but then I found out we got to wear hard hats and I jumped on board. Chuquicamata was interesting for a number of reasons. For one, copper is basically the key to Chile’s riches. The copper industry has been nationalized since the early 1970’s, and this nationalization actually seems to really be working for the country. Chile produces around 35% percent of the world’s copper (if I remember correctly) and Chuquicamata mines about 50% of the copper en Chile. Pretty amazing, huh? The first picture below is of our group in front of one of the trucks they use to haul the copper. One of those trucks costs 4 million dollars, and they last about 10 years.
The next picture is of one of the giant holes from which they mine. There is probably more technical language for this...anyway, it was HUGE, and there are like 5 of these from which they are currently digging.
Friday night part of the group went on an astrological tour. San Pedro is so far away from any semblance of civilization, that the stars are incredibly bright. I had never seen anything like it before. The star tour cost about $24 so since my bank account is so sad these days I decided not to go. However, our group’s guide ended up knowing a lot about the stars and constellations, so we did our own unofficial tour, and he pointed out the constellations that are the biggest deal in the Southern Hemisphere like the Southern Cross and the Tres Marias.
Saturday I started the day by giving thanks to God for a full night’s sleep (haha), and then headed out to do a bike tour of Incan ruins in the area. Since San Pedro de Atacama is so much farther north (read: closer to the equator) than Santiago, it was really warm during the days, and so it was really nice to be out in the sun riding along the beautiful desert landscape. Below is a picture from our bike ride (we had to carry our bikes across that river!):
Later that same day, we went to La Valle de La Luna (The Valley of the Moon) and watched an incredible sunset play out over the peaks and craters of the valley. As you might have guessed, it is called La Valle de La Luna because it looks like the surface of the moon. Yesterday morning, we were up and at ‘em by 8 a.m. to see the Salar de Atacama—the largest salt deposit in Chile, and home to three different species of flamingos. The landscape of the salt surrounded by volcanoes was incredible, but with flamingoes added it was even more beautiful. The flamingoes were not as pink as they are at the zoo. We learned that this is because in zoos they feed flamingoes huge amounts of beta carotene to make them that color. Usually in nature they are not actually that bright pink—interesting huh? Anyway, here is a picture from Valle de la Luna:
I think the thing that impacted me the most this weekend was the realization that this is a living and breathing earth we live on. The impact of realizing how small I am in comparison to the stars was the beginning Friday night, and the rest of the weekend continued with information on and visits to natural and geological processes and places. We visited a huge deposit of copper and other minerals, learned that the crazy red hills we saw on our bike tour were created by pressure and plates pushing up against each other, visited a valley with craters like the surface of the moon, saw smoke coming out of an active volcano, drove through miles and miles of desert without any plant or animal life, saw Saturn without the aid of a telescope, and visited the most expansive salt flats in Chile. I was struck by how ALIVE the earth is—it is constantly changing, and it is so diverse! This is especially evident in a long, skinny country like Chile, which is made up of desert in the north, ocean to the west, the Andes Mountains to the east, and the forested, unique landscapes of Patagonia to the south.
I am truly blessed to be in a country so vibrant and unique not only in its landscape, but also in its language, culture, and history. Next adventure? Finishing this 20-page boar of a paper I’ve been whining about for the last two weeks. That's due on Wednesday, and then I have a midterm on Friday worth 50% of my Conflicto Armado grade (no pressure). However, if I make it through this next week I get a big reward at the end—my Mom, Aunt, and close family friend Natalie are all arriving Sunday! I can’t wait to show them all around my new home.
Until next time,
Amy
Monday, May 3, 2010
Un Techo para Chile (A Roof for Chile)!
This weekend proved to be one of the most rewarding for me since I've been here in Chile. For a while the CIEE kids have been clamoring to help with earthquake reconstruction, but with our busy schedules and so much going on in Chile post-earthquake its been near impossible to organize. This weekend we finally got our chance to pitch in a little bit, by volunteering for an organization called Un Techo para Chile (A roof for Chile). Techo para Chile existed before the earthquake, and many other South and Central American countries have now copied their business plan.
The houses that they build are called "media aquas" and they come prefabricated so that volunteer teams can set them up over a weekend. Our CIEE team of 35 was split into 7 teams of 5 to build 7 houses in a little rural city close to Talca called Las Cabras. It was so awesome for me to get out of Santiago not to another big city or a tourist hotspot, but to the campesinos of Chile. It was an opportunity to see how most Chileans live--outside of the city, and it was a beautiful experience. It felt like the DR again a little bit--riding in the back of pickups, getting dirty, working hard, all while surrounded by beautiful mountains, lakes, and sunsets out in God's country.
The family my team worked with (a young couple that had been married 5 years) did not lose their home to the earthquake, but to fire. On friday morning their house had burned to the ground after a chimney fire got out of control. It was devastating to see how such hardworking people could lose absolutely everything in such a flash. There is a picture of their home below.
Saturday was a frustrating day. Since our family had just applied for a temporary Techo para Chile house the day before, we weren't able to actually get to the site and start building until about 3pm. The others in my team were really upset about this, and bad attitudes and negative spirits started us off. I had kind of expected that to heppen because 1. Chile runs on tiki-time. When someone says 9am, read 11. and 2. Because without fail, that's how volunteer work runs! I knew that we would get the house done, but after working until about 9pm (most of that time working by candlelight) we had not even finished getting in the pilotes (pieces of wood that would make the foundation of the house, pronounced pee-loh-tays). Here is a picture of the beginning of our work, getting the pilotes in.
Saturday night we had a giant CIEE sleepover in the gym of the local school :D I especially enjoyed getting to spend all this time with my gringos this weekend because it is dawning on me that after Chile, we will never all be together again! I have gotten close to so many in my group, and can't believe we have so little time left here together. Anyway, despite the lack of beds I slept like an angel Saturday night, and we were up and at 'em Sunday morning by 8.
Sunday was hard, but our team got into a groove and finished the house! We worked a 10 hour day, and had to put the roof, windows, and door on in the dark, but it all got done. We didn't get back to Santiago last night until about 1am, but it was totally worth it. I am a girl with sore muscles and a happy heart! It is so rewarding to start and finish a project like this with little experience and little time. This weekend was also awesome for my Spanish. Because we had Patricio (our program director) in our group of 5 and the husband whose house had burned down worked with us quite a bit, we spoke only in Spanish the whole time we worked. Language barriers can make things more frustrating when trying to do technical things like raise a wall, but I can now say that I feel very comfortable with both construction words and frustration words. I learned a lot of Spanish swear words! Here is a picture of our group with the finished house:
Anyway, the work was hard but the reward was great. I am so glad that I had the opportunity to volunteer this weekend. It was so nice to get out of the city, see the countryside, and get away from the constant stress of homework! BUT...now I've got to get back to the nitty gritty school stuff. I have a paper and a presentation this week so it will be busy, but I leave Friday morning at 3am for San Pedro de Atacama. Gracias a Dios, another break is not far off!
The houses that they build are called "media aquas" and they come prefabricated so that volunteer teams can set them up over a weekend. Our CIEE team of 35 was split into 7 teams of 5 to build 7 houses in a little rural city close to Talca called Las Cabras. It was so awesome for me to get out of Santiago not to another big city or a tourist hotspot, but to the campesinos of Chile. It was an opportunity to see how most Chileans live--outside of the city, and it was a beautiful experience. It felt like the DR again a little bit--riding in the back of pickups, getting dirty, working hard, all while surrounded by beautiful mountains, lakes, and sunsets out in God's country.
The family my team worked with (a young couple that had been married 5 years) did not lose their home to the earthquake, but to fire. On friday morning their house had burned to the ground after a chimney fire got out of control. It was devastating to see how such hardworking people could lose absolutely everything in such a flash. There is a picture of their home below.
Saturday was a frustrating day. Since our family had just applied for a temporary Techo para Chile house the day before, we weren't able to actually get to the site and start building until about 3pm. The others in my team were really upset about this, and bad attitudes and negative spirits started us off. I had kind of expected that to heppen because 1. Chile runs on tiki-time. When someone says 9am, read 11. and 2. Because without fail, that's how volunteer work runs! I knew that we would get the house done, but after working until about 9pm (most of that time working by candlelight) we had not even finished getting in the pilotes (pieces of wood that would make the foundation of the house, pronounced pee-loh-tays). Here is a picture of the beginning of our work, getting the pilotes in.
Saturday night we had a giant CIEE sleepover in the gym of the local school :D I especially enjoyed getting to spend all this time with my gringos this weekend because it is dawning on me that after Chile, we will never all be together again! I have gotten close to so many in my group, and can't believe we have so little time left here together. Anyway, despite the lack of beds I slept like an angel Saturday night, and we were up and at 'em Sunday morning by 8.
Sunday was hard, but our team got into a groove and finished the house! We worked a 10 hour day, and had to put the roof, windows, and door on in the dark, but it all got done. We didn't get back to Santiago last night until about 1am, but it was totally worth it. I am a girl with sore muscles and a happy heart! It is so rewarding to start and finish a project like this with little experience and little time. This weekend was also awesome for my Spanish. Because we had Patricio (our program director) in our group of 5 and the husband whose house had burned down worked with us quite a bit, we spoke only in Spanish the whole time we worked. Language barriers can make things more frustrating when trying to do technical things like raise a wall, but I can now say that I feel very comfortable with both construction words and frustration words. I learned a lot of Spanish swear words! Here is a picture of our group with the finished house:
Anyway, the work was hard but the reward was great. I am so glad that I had the opportunity to volunteer this weekend. It was so nice to get out of the city, see the countryside, and get away from the constant stress of homework! BUT...now I've got to get back to the nitty gritty school stuff. I have a paper and a presentation this week so it will be busy, but I leave Friday morning at 3am for San Pedro de Atacama. Gracias a Dios, another break is not far off!
Friday, April 30, 2010
Differences in the Details: Chilean Culture 101
Sunday is the halfway mark of my timre in Chile. While I desperately want a Shawn's blueberry bagel, upon my return I know that my stomach's satisfaction will not be worth the mental pain of leaving Chile. Clearly when spending time in another country, you're going to come across some funny little cultural details that make you turn your head up and say, "Wait, what?!" In honor of my halfway mark, here are some little Chilean oddities that either really frustrate me, or that I've come to know and love.
1. Nescafé: Chileans do not drink coffee in "ground bean" form like we do. In fact, most of them do not own nor know how to use a coffee maker. Instead, it is completely customary (both at home and at restaurants) to just heat up some water and put some "coffee powder" in it. This creates a liquid that, as you might of guessed, takes very little like real coffee and instead, like coffee flavored water. ick. ALSO: Even Chilean coffee cafés don't brew coffee. You may have a cappuchino, mocha, expresso shots, or latte, but coffee shops don't brew coffee. An americano is the closest thing I've come.
2. Libraries: The library at my university does not allow you to bring backpacks inside. The second week of school I rolled into the library to do some homework on my two hour break between classes, and the man at the reference desk curtly told me that there are no backpacks in the library. I stared at him dumbfounded and said, "But all my homework is in here!" He pointed to lockers along the wall, where I joined the other students in simply taking everything that was previously in my backpack out and carrying it in my hands. This is not just a U. Católica rule, even at the Govt-run National Library and others in the city, no backpacks are allowed.
3. White bread: Chileans only eat white bread. Wheat is sold in the stores, and finally now my host mom will occasionally buy it for me on special request, but as a general rule, no wheat bread ever passes Chilean lips. The bad part about this? Pancito (a roll of bread) is served with every meal except breakfast.
4. No central heat/AC: The entire country of Chile lives without either air conditioning or central heating. Not in businesses, not at school, not in restaurants, not at home. The story I've been told is that it's too expensive, which I suppose makes sense. However, it gets down to the 30's at night in the winter. Since its now fall leading into winter here, I've been finding it very hard to sit at my desk and write papers with blue, freezing hands. This means I usually end up doing homework in bed, but you know where that leads...
5. Stray dogs/General love of dogs: Chile has a dog problem. There are hundreds of thousands of stray dogs living on the street here. Think of it this way, dogs are to Chile what cows are to India. Also, Chileans in general LOVE dogs. Most families have at least one, and to say you don't like dogs would be super strange, because for the most part, everybody just flat out adores their dogs (stray and domesticated).
6. Toilet Paper Troubles: In a lot of public restrooms there is no TP in the actual stalls. Even at the hoity-toity private catholic university that I attend here, no TP in the stalls. However, there is a giant roll on the wall at the end of the rows of stalls, and you just go and grab your TP and take it into the stall with you. You also use TP to dry your hands after you wash them. This is upsetting because a) If you've got a little more work to do in the bathroom, everyone knows by how much toilet paper you've taken...and b) its just generally hard to anticipate exactly how much TP you're going to need. Awkward.
Alright, well maybe I've blogged about only the things that frustrate me. But these aren't complaints, just little differences that make me understand that some of the things I see as givens in my every day life in the States just--aren't! And that, in a nutshell, is why I love to travel. Living in different countries expands the way I think and helps me to put myself inside the minds of others. But oh for a bagel...
Be well.
Amy
1. Nescafé: Chileans do not drink coffee in "ground bean" form like we do. In fact, most of them do not own nor know how to use a coffee maker. Instead, it is completely customary (both at home and at restaurants) to just heat up some water and put some "coffee powder" in it. This creates a liquid that, as you might of guessed, takes very little like real coffee and instead, like coffee flavored water. ick. ALSO: Even Chilean coffee cafés don't brew coffee. You may have a cappuchino, mocha, expresso shots, or latte, but coffee shops don't brew coffee. An americano is the closest thing I've come.
2. Libraries: The library at my university does not allow you to bring backpacks inside. The second week of school I rolled into the library to do some homework on my two hour break between classes, and the man at the reference desk curtly told me that there are no backpacks in the library. I stared at him dumbfounded and said, "But all my homework is in here!" He pointed to lockers along the wall, where I joined the other students in simply taking everything that was previously in my backpack out and carrying it in my hands. This is not just a U. Católica rule, even at the Govt-run National Library and others in the city, no backpacks are allowed.
3. White bread: Chileans only eat white bread. Wheat is sold in the stores, and finally now my host mom will occasionally buy it for me on special request, but as a general rule, no wheat bread ever passes Chilean lips. The bad part about this? Pancito (a roll of bread) is served with every meal except breakfast.
4. No central heat/AC: The entire country of Chile lives without either air conditioning or central heating. Not in businesses, not at school, not in restaurants, not at home. The story I've been told is that it's too expensive, which I suppose makes sense. However, it gets down to the 30's at night in the winter. Since its now fall leading into winter here, I've been finding it very hard to sit at my desk and write papers with blue, freezing hands. This means I usually end up doing homework in bed, but you know where that leads...
5. Stray dogs/General love of dogs: Chile has a dog problem. There are hundreds of thousands of stray dogs living on the street here. Think of it this way, dogs are to Chile what cows are to India. Also, Chileans in general LOVE dogs. Most families have at least one, and to say you don't like dogs would be super strange, because for the most part, everybody just flat out adores their dogs (stray and domesticated).
6. Toilet Paper Troubles: In a lot of public restrooms there is no TP in the actual stalls. Even at the hoity-toity private catholic university that I attend here, no TP in the stalls. However, there is a giant roll on the wall at the end of the rows of stalls, and you just go and grab your TP and take it into the stall with you. You also use TP to dry your hands after you wash them. This is upsetting because a) If you've got a little more work to do in the bathroom, everyone knows by how much toilet paper you've taken...and b) its just generally hard to anticipate exactly how much TP you're going to need. Awkward.
Alright, well maybe I've blogged about only the things that frustrate me. But these aren't complaints, just little differences that make me understand that some of the things I see as givens in my every day life in the States just--aren't! And that, in a nutshell, is why I love to travel. Living in different countries expands the way I think and helps me to put myself inside the minds of others. But oh for a bagel...
Be well.
Amy
Monday, April 26, 2010
A 21 Year Old Song
Hello all! As many of you know, my 21st birthday was last Wednesday. Leading into my birthday I was feeling a little down about being away from family an friends for the big event--everyone I know here I have known for only 2 months, so how could they care that much? Well although these friends are new, they are friends of gold just the same. They made my 21st birthday very memorable and special.
The actual day of my birthday I got to sleep in, and spent the morning opening cards from home, skypeing with my Mom, and working on homework. I ate lunch and then got a call from the CIEE office that there was a package for me, so I went to pick it up and found myself a box of dark chocolates from my Aunt Janet and her family. After that my Human Rights class met to visit the Museum of Memory and Human Rights here in Santiago, and the class greeted me with a muffin with candles and sang Happy Birthday (picture below)! From there I went straight to an interview for a paper I'm working on.
Thursday night my friends took me out for the "21 part," and we went to a bar and danced and sang karaoke and I had my first 21 year old drink (a raspberry mojito). Perhaps most special of all, my host family threw a party for me Friday night at our house. We had a Chilean "Choripan" (a type of barbeque) and about 20 of my friends came. It was so fun to have everyone there together, and I think people really enjoyed the party. Everyone sang Feliz Cumpleaños to me as I blew out all 21 (can you believe how old I am?) candles on my cake. I am so thankful for the 21 years I have had, and marvel at how blessed I have been in my life. I have a wonderful family, friends who love me, good health, a God who cares for me, and many opportunities to see and experience other parts of the world.
Anyway, now that the birthday is said and done, the real work begins. In the next three weeks I've got two essays to write (one is a 20-page research paper on Human Rights during the Pinochet dictatorship), 2 exams, and 2 presentations. This would stress me out in the States too, but the added difficulty of doing all of this in Spanish makes it harder. Also, all these assignments are worth between 30 and 60 percent of my final grades! Yikes. I think starting this week, time is going to begin to race by and before I know it the end of June will be here, classes will be ending, and I'll be preparing to return home.
I have plans for the next four weekends, so I'm sure it will be hard just to find a time to rest while trying to get everything done. This coming Friday I'm going to Talca, where the epicenter of the earthquake was, to help build homes for Chilean families still living in tents in the wake of the terremoto in February. They really need homes going up as winter is coming! The weekend after that I fly to San Pedro de Atacama with CIEE to see the desert and the highlights of the north of Chile. Then, the weekend after that my Mom, Aunt Janet, and Mom's childhood friend Natalie will all be here visiting. I can't wait! I will spend that whole week with them and then we're going to Viña del Mar/Valparaiso for Thursday, Friday, and Saturday of the week they're here. It is going to be a crazy month of May, but I know it will be amazing. I'll try to update at some point, although I'm not sure when that will be.
To those of you in the States who sent cards or facebook greetings for my birthday, thank you so much. Feeling so loved from so far away was one of the most special parts of my birthday.
Love and blessing to you all,
Amy
The actual day of my birthday I got to sleep in, and spent the morning opening cards from home, skypeing with my Mom, and working on homework. I ate lunch and then got a call from the CIEE office that there was a package for me, so I went to pick it up and found myself a box of dark chocolates from my Aunt Janet and her family. After that my Human Rights class met to visit the Museum of Memory and Human Rights here in Santiago, and the class greeted me with a muffin with candles and sang Happy Birthday (picture below)! From there I went straight to an interview for a paper I'm working on.
Thursday night my friends took me out for the "21 part," and we went to a bar and danced and sang karaoke and I had my first 21 year old drink (a raspberry mojito). Perhaps most special of all, my host family threw a party for me Friday night at our house. We had a Chilean "Choripan" (a type of barbeque) and about 20 of my friends came. It was so fun to have everyone there together, and I think people really enjoyed the party. Everyone sang Feliz Cumpleaños to me as I blew out all 21 (can you believe how old I am?) candles on my cake. I am so thankful for the 21 years I have had, and marvel at how blessed I have been in my life. I have a wonderful family, friends who love me, good health, a God who cares for me, and many opportunities to see and experience other parts of the world.
Anyway, now that the birthday is said and done, the real work begins. In the next three weeks I've got two essays to write (one is a 20-page research paper on Human Rights during the Pinochet dictatorship), 2 exams, and 2 presentations. This would stress me out in the States too, but the added difficulty of doing all of this in Spanish makes it harder. Also, all these assignments are worth between 30 and 60 percent of my final grades! Yikes. I think starting this week, time is going to begin to race by and before I know it the end of June will be here, classes will be ending, and I'll be preparing to return home.
I have plans for the next four weekends, so I'm sure it will be hard just to find a time to rest while trying to get everything done. This coming Friday I'm going to Talca, where the epicenter of the earthquake was, to help build homes for Chilean families still living in tents in the wake of the terremoto in February. They really need homes going up as winter is coming! The weekend after that I fly to San Pedro de Atacama with CIEE to see the desert and the highlights of the north of Chile. Then, the weekend after that my Mom, Aunt Janet, and Mom's childhood friend Natalie will all be here visiting. I can't wait! I will spend that whole week with them and then we're going to Viña del Mar/Valparaiso for Thursday, Friday, and Saturday of the week they're here. It is going to be a crazy month of May, but I know it will be amazing. I'll try to update at some point, although I'm not sure when that will be.
To those of you in the States who sent cards or facebook greetings for my birthday, thank you so much. Feeling so loved from so far away was one of the most special parts of my birthday.
Love and blessing to you all,
Amy
Thursday, April 8, 2010
Even to the Ends of the Earth
The past week I had the incredible opportunity to visit one of the most beautiful places on God's earth-Patagonia (specifically Chile's national park, Torres del Paine). Classes were cancelled Thursday and Friday the week before Easter, so I took the liberty of skipping a bit of school and going south for a whole week. While I missed being at home with my family (and the Mixes!) during Easter, spending Easter Sunday watching the sun rise over spectacular mountain vistas seemed to me the best way of celebrating our living God! Here is one of the many pictures I took in Torres del Paine:
It seems that God proving His faithfulness to me is going to be the story of my life. Getting to Patagonia was stressful because I had to miss school, and we took red eye flights there and back so I was pretty tired even going into this vacation. We decided that we wanted to hike the famous "W" of Torres del Paine, however this usually takes 5 days and we only had 4 days free to backpack through the park. Additionally, we didn't have the appropriate gear (tents, cold weather sleeping bags, hiking boots, camping stoves, etc.) to complete the hike. However, we found a place to rent all the gear once we arrived, and God used an exhausting four days of hiking and camping to teach me about his faithfulness and love for me. In four days we hiked about 40 miles over rocky and hilly terrain with 30 pound packs on our backs. This was super challenging for me! Below is a picture of the route we backpacked through Torres del Paine (it makes it easy to see why it is called the "W").
And here is a picture of where we camped the first night. Makes it easy to understand why it was impossible for this trip not to be spiritual, doesn't it!?!
This is me in front of the famed Torres (Towers) of Torres del Paine:
We had flown into the southernmost city in South America, and the Bible verse that kept me going over these physically and mentally challenging days was, "I am with you always, even to the ends of the earth." Though the going was tough, every day I was reenergized by the beauty of the earth that God gave me. I think God has blessed me by allowing me to recognize His grace in my life. Here in Santiago grace comes not only though week-long trips to Patagonia, but also through little things like peanut butter, good conversations with my host family, and finding ways to cut time off the daily commute :)
This weekend we have a cultural trip to Valparaiso/Vina del Mar with CIEE (my study abroad program). It should be a fun three days in what we call "Gringolandia" (land of the gringos, since we will be a group of 40 or so Americans, haha). Its hard to believe that I am almost two months into my time here in Santiago. Sometimes I miss people and things from home so much that I want to return tomorrow, but usually I am filled with thankfulness for the time I have here.
So here's a funny thing (and then I promise I will end this eternal blog). One of my greatest fears before coming to study in Chile was living in a Spanish-speaking culture. I was scared I wouldn't understand my professors and that I would feel unable to adequately express myself in Spanish. However, Spanish has become such a big part of my everyday life and the way I process things that I am afraid it will be the thing I miss most once I leave Santiago! In fact, I am so sad about no longer being surrounded by Spanish-speakers once I return to the US that I started to look for jobs in Spain and other Spanish-speaking countries once I graduate. (Mom, do not freak out. We will talk.) Fancy that!
It seems that God proving His faithfulness to me is going to be the story of my life. Getting to Patagonia was stressful because I had to miss school, and we took red eye flights there and back so I was pretty tired even going into this vacation. We decided that we wanted to hike the famous "W" of Torres del Paine, however this usually takes 5 days and we only had 4 days free to backpack through the park. Additionally, we didn't have the appropriate gear (tents, cold weather sleeping bags, hiking boots, camping stoves, etc.) to complete the hike. However, we found a place to rent all the gear once we arrived, and God used an exhausting four days of hiking and camping to teach me about his faithfulness and love for me. In four days we hiked about 40 miles over rocky and hilly terrain with 30 pound packs on our backs. This was super challenging for me! Below is a picture of the route we backpacked through Torres del Paine (it makes it easy to see why it is called the "W").
And here is a picture of where we camped the first night. Makes it easy to understand why it was impossible for this trip not to be spiritual, doesn't it!?!
This is me in front of the famed Torres (Towers) of Torres del Paine:
We had flown into the southernmost city in South America, and the Bible verse that kept me going over these physically and mentally challenging days was, "I am with you always, even to the ends of the earth." Though the going was tough, every day I was reenergized by the beauty of the earth that God gave me. I think God has blessed me by allowing me to recognize His grace in my life. Here in Santiago grace comes not only though week-long trips to Patagonia, but also through little things like peanut butter, good conversations with my host family, and finding ways to cut time off the daily commute :)
This weekend we have a cultural trip to Valparaiso/Vina del Mar with CIEE (my study abroad program). It should be a fun three days in what we call "Gringolandia" (land of the gringos, since we will be a group of 40 or so Americans, haha). Its hard to believe that I am almost two months into my time here in Santiago. Sometimes I miss people and things from home so much that I want to return tomorrow, but usually I am filled with thankfulness for the time I have here.
So here's a funny thing (and then I promise I will end this eternal blog). One of my greatest fears before coming to study in Chile was living in a Spanish-speaking culture. I was scared I wouldn't understand my professors and that I would feel unable to adequately express myself in Spanish. However, Spanish has become such a big part of my everyday life and the way I process things that I am afraid it will be the thing I miss most once I leave Santiago! In fact, I am so sad about no longer being surrounded by Spanish-speakers once I return to the US that I started to look for jobs in Spain and other Spanish-speaking countries once I graduate. (Mom, do not freak out. We will talk.) Fancy that!
Monday, March 22, 2010
Going it Alone
I have officially been here in Chile almost five weeks now-hard to believe a month has already passed! Many things have gotten much easier for me in the past month, like speaking Spanish, finding my way around the city, and interacting with my host family. I think my up-tight personality has been really stretched and changed by living in a country where, "Time is free" instead of in one where, "Time is money." I think that's why I love travel so much--it stretches me to understand the way others think and forces me to find a new, more flexible, status quo.
However, some things have gotten harder with time. Right now I am struggling with my spiritual life. I still haven't found a church or Bible study group that I like, and honestly haven't been looking too hard because I am so socially exhausted all the time from trying to make Chilean friends that I never have energy for anything extra. I have been told that being away from a church group that always encourages me will be really good for my faith, that it is important to learn to grow in the Lord without others influencing you and constantly providing you with ready-made devotionals and sermons. However, I'm not really sure I know how to go it alone with God--isn't that sad?
In the past I have found it easy for my travels to become spiritual break times. I'm sure everone has experienced this before. Even if you're in a good routine of spending time in the Bible, its easy to let that slide when your routine is changed. Now that I've found my cultural feet I feel its past time for me to be settling into a rhythm with God. But where is he? I can't seem to find him! I ask him to keep me safe when I'm lost on a bus on the wrong side of town, I thank him for Andes mountain vistas, but where is my God, my friend, my rock? I'm going it alone with God down here, but at the moment it feels more like just going it alone.
However, some things have gotten harder with time. Right now I am struggling with my spiritual life. I still haven't found a church or Bible study group that I like, and honestly haven't been looking too hard because I am so socially exhausted all the time from trying to make Chilean friends that I never have energy for anything extra. I have been told that being away from a church group that always encourages me will be really good for my faith, that it is important to learn to grow in the Lord without others influencing you and constantly providing you with ready-made devotionals and sermons. However, I'm not really sure I know how to go it alone with God--isn't that sad?
In the past I have found it easy for my travels to become spiritual break times. I'm sure everone has experienced this before. Even if you're in a good routine of spending time in the Bible, its easy to let that slide when your routine is changed. Now that I've found my cultural feet I feel its past time for me to be settling into a rhythm with God. But where is he? I can't seem to find him! I ask him to keep me safe when I'm lost on a bus on the wrong side of town, I thank him for Andes mountain vistas, but where is my God, my friend, my rock? I'm going it alone with God down here, but at the moment it feels more like just going it alone.
Friday, March 12, 2010
All This, Every Day
In her book Hard Laugher, Anne Lamott writes that a friend of hers wrote a poem called All This, Every Day, and that she thinks that is the finest mantra. This morning I woke up filled with grattitude and thought just that--I have all this, every day! I have warm sun on my skin, a bustling city, poetic music, mountains out the bus window, health, friends, an insane but endearing family, and plums. Fresh, sweet, dripping down your chin plums.
Of course, I also have other things every day, like earthquake aftershocks, an hour and 15 minute long commute, pimples, language barriers, and loneliness. But when I am 80 and my eyes don't work quite right and my butt is saggy and I look back on my life, I know I won't remember sometimes being lonely in Santiago or frustrated by a long commute to school. I will remember that when I was twenty, I did the scary but hard thing and moved to a different country for 5 months. And I don't think I will have regrets, because I am truly thankful for my life as it is happening, and I realize what a gift I've been given.
Now, I'm not going to start singing Raindrops on Roses or anything, but if you haven't felt deep, true thankfulness recently (or ever), I invite you to make that a prayer request. I believe God enjoys blessing us with the realization of his blessing and grace in our lives, and when you ask him for a spirit of thankfulness he delights in giving it to you.
After a terrible, horrible, frustrating week trying to register for my classes and find my way around a foreign university of 40,000 students, God blessed me with a day full of grace. On Thursday I was finally able to register for the classes I needed, find the photocopy place for my textbooks (long story), and find space for a little bit of free time. Earlier in the week I had broken down into tears several times, both times in public with very underprepared male friends. Poor guys. I was frustrated and overwhlemed by trying to get things done in a culture where offices close whenever they please and the natives are unwilling to help a foreigner stumbing her way through the first week of classes. Gracias a Dios, I was blessed with a day of breath, rest, and grace when I needed it most.
Tomorrow I am getting up early to go to Cajon de Maipo, about an hour and a half from Santiago. Some friends and I are going to get out of the city and spend the day ziplining and trekking the foothills of the Andes.
All this, every day!!
Of course, I also have other things every day, like earthquake aftershocks, an hour and 15 minute long commute, pimples, language barriers, and loneliness. But when I am 80 and my eyes don't work quite right and my butt is saggy and I look back on my life, I know I won't remember sometimes being lonely in Santiago or frustrated by a long commute to school. I will remember that when I was twenty, I did the scary but hard thing and moved to a different country for 5 months. And I don't think I will have regrets, because I am truly thankful for my life as it is happening, and I realize what a gift I've been given.
Now, I'm not going to start singing Raindrops on Roses or anything, but if you haven't felt deep, true thankfulness recently (or ever), I invite you to make that a prayer request. I believe God enjoys blessing us with the realization of his blessing and grace in our lives, and when you ask him for a spirit of thankfulness he delights in giving it to you.
After a terrible, horrible, frustrating week trying to register for my classes and find my way around a foreign university of 40,000 students, God blessed me with a day full of grace. On Thursday I was finally able to register for the classes I needed, find the photocopy place for my textbooks (long story), and find space for a little bit of free time. Earlier in the week I had broken down into tears several times, both times in public with very underprepared male friends. Poor guys. I was frustrated and overwhlemed by trying to get things done in a culture where offices close whenever they please and the natives are unwilling to help a foreigner stumbing her way through the first week of classes. Gracias a Dios, I was blessed with a day of breath, rest, and grace when I needed it most.
Tomorrow I am getting up early to go to Cajon de Maipo, about an hour and a half from Santiago. Some friends and I are going to get out of the city and spend the day ziplining and trekking the foothills of the Andes.
All this, every day!!
Saturday, March 6, 2010
Santiago: Earthquake Diaries
It's been a week since the devastating 8.8 earthquake here in Chile. Obviously life here has been chaotic, I didn't have internet working until Thursday and so have been unable to update all of my faithful blog followers :)
Chile is a country that is hurting, but it is amazing to see how people have come together to support one another during this crisis. Saturday after the metaphorical smoke had cleared I knew I should get my own earthquake story on paper (while it was all so fresh in my mind), so I began writing blog posts in Microsoft Word to be published when the internet came back up. So here it is:
Saturday, Feb. 28 12:30p.m.
Well, for a minute there I thought the terrorists had won. Last night I was awakened around 3:35 a.m. by an earthquake that shook the house for almost three minutes. Currently the news is saying it was an 8 on the Richter scale. It’s a horrible feeling to wake up scared, and clouded by sleep I sat in bed for a few seconds paralyzed by fear before I gathered my senses and moved to the doorway of my room. My host mom yelled for me to join her in the kitchen, where she and I and the two dogs rode out the rest of the earthquake in the patio doorway.
After the earthquake passed, waves continued to lapse out of our pool for about 5 minutes. Broken glass littered the floor. The sliding glass doors from my room to the patio had been locked and shut, and were now completely open. Power, internet, and telephone service was cut off. According to the news the death toll is at 122. I think we live our everyday lives with a sense of safety and comfort, always knowing that we are never truly safe in this world, but never truly understanding our helplessness. As the earth shook beneath me, I was terrifyingly aware of my complete vulnerability.
9:52p.m.
I guess I’m not quite sure what to do with this newfound understanding of my powerlessness. I must admit that I am wavering between praising God and questioning him. With the current death toll at 214, I have a hard time marveling at the greatness of God amid my relative inconsequence. I am feeling small and powerlessness, and I suppose that’s appropriate since that’s exactly what I am. I guess that is what makes God great. My life is a drop in the ocean of time, and while my emotions feel to me of great importance, why should God care about them? Yet our great God cares, and he is here with us amid all the destruction and death.
It is hard to be isolated here in a time of crisis. The phones and internet are still out, and so I have been unable to alert my family in the States of my safety, talk with my fellow students here in Chile and make sure they are all okay, or hear the outside world’s reaction to this tragedy. It would be so comforting to me to be able to talk with my parents! Our only connection with the world is the TV, and we have been watching the death toll rise all day. The president, Michelle Bachelet addressed the nation about an hour ago, and apparently this earthquake was the 5th strongest ever recorded in the world—stronger even than Haiti! We have been feeling after-tremors all day, and it has been extremely emotionally draining to face such a fearful event without the support of anyone who knows me or speaks my language.
The current public announcement is that we are not to leave our houses until Wednesday, because the roads are cracked and impassable and all of the city buildings need to be tested to ensure that they are not structurally dangerous. This is lonely and boring, especially without internet or phone communication. However, thanks to God we now have power. University classes were supposed to start Monday, and school opening dates have been postponed for at least the next week. Please pray for strength for me and for the people of Chile.
The photo below is of a church that was badly damaged:
and the Museum of Bellas Artes:
Now I'm back to writing in the present moment. I am so thankful for the outpouring of concern and prayers from those of you in the States. It has been a huge blessing to realize that you all care so much! Classes at La Católica, the private school, begin on Monday, but the University of Chile sustained some major damages and classes there don't start until the following Monday. Because they have had to delay classes at the U of Chile, they won't end until July 30, and I am set to return the 14th! Sadly, this means that I won't be able to take classes at the U of Chile. However, I am trusting God that this is what's best for me.
The classes I'm planning on taking are as follows:
Chilean Poetry at the End of the Century- my attempt at getting Spanish Lit credit without having to read Don Quijote
Woman and Society in Chile- YAY
Spanish for Foreigners- snoozefest
Armed Conflict and Humanitarian Work
And guess what? I don't have any classes on Fridays! I am super nervous for the start of classes but I'm sure it will be fine. I'm just taking it one step at a time.
Chile is a country that is hurting, but it is amazing to see how people have come together to support one another during this crisis. Saturday after the metaphorical smoke had cleared I knew I should get my own earthquake story on paper (while it was all so fresh in my mind), so I began writing blog posts in Microsoft Word to be published when the internet came back up. So here it is:
Saturday, Feb. 28 12:30p.m.
Well, for a minute there I thought the terrorists had won. Last night I was awakened around 3:35 a.m. by an earthquake that shook the house for almost three minutes. Currently the news is saying it was an 8 on the Richter scale. It’s a horrible feeling to wake up scared, and clouded by sleep I sat in bed for a few seconds paralyzed by fear before I gathered my senses and moved to the doorway of my room. My host mom yelled for me to join her in the kitchen, where she and I and the two dogs rode out the rest of the earthquake in the patio doorway.
After the earthquake passed, waves continued to lapse out of our pool for about 5 minutes. Broken glass littered the floor. The sliding glass doors from my room to the patio had been locked and shut, and were now completely open. Power, internet, and telephone service was cut off. According to the news the death toll is at 122. I think we live our everyday lives with a sense of safety and comfort, always knowing that we are never truly safe in this world, but never truly understanding our helplessness. As the earth shook beneath me, I was terrifyingly aware of my complete vulnerability.
9:52p.m.
I guess I’m not quite sure what to do with this newfound understanding of my powerlessness. I must admit that I am wavering between praising God and questioning him. With the current death toll at 214, I have a hard time marveling at the greatness of God amid my relative inconsequence. I am feeling small and powerlessness, and I suppose that’s appropriate since that’s exactly what I am. I guess that is what makes God great. My life is a drop in the ocean of time, and while my emotions feel to me of great importance, why should God care about them? Yet our great God cares, and he is here with us amid all the destruction and death.
It is hard to be isolated here in a time of crisis. The phones and internet are still out, and so I have been unable to alert my family in the States of my safety, talk with my fellow students here in Chile and make sure they are all okay, or hear the outside world’s reaction to this tragedy. It would be so comforting to me to be able to talk with my parents! Our only connection with the world is the TV, and we have been watching the death toll rise all day. The president, Michelle Bachelet addressed the nation about an hour ago, and apparently this earthquake was the 5th strongest ever recorded in the world—stronger even than Haiti! We have been feeling after-tremors all day, and it has been extremely emotionally draining to face such a fearful event without the support of anyone who knows me or speaks my language.
The current public announcement is that we are not to leave our houses until Wednesday, because the roads are cracked and impassable and all of the city buildings need to be tested to ensure that they are not structurally dangerous. This is lonely and boring, especially without internet or phone communication. However, thanks to God we now have power. University classes were supposed to start Monday, and school opening dates have been postponed for at least the next week. Please pray for strength for me and for the people of Chile.
The photo below is of a church that was badly damaged:
and the Museum of Bellas Artes:
Now I'm back to writing in the present moment. I am so thankful for the outpouring of concern and prayers from those of you in the States. It has been a huge blessing to realize that you all care so much! Classes at La Católica, the private school, begin on Monday, but the University of Chile sustained some major damages and classes there don't start until the following Monday. Because they have had to delay classes at the U of Chile, they won't end until July 30, and I am set to return the 14th! Sadly, this means that I won't be able to take classes at the U of Chile. However, I am trusting God that this is what's best for me.
The classes I'm planning on taking are as follows:
Chilean Poetry at the End of the Century- my attempt at getting Spanish Lit credit without having to read Don Quijote
Woman and Society in Chile- YAY
Spanish for Foreigners- snoozefest
Armed Conflict and Humanitarian Work
And guess what? I don't have any classes on Fridays! I am super nervous for the start of classes but I'm sure it will be fine. I'm just taking it one step at a time.
Monday, February 22, 2010
"Gracias a Dios"
Today I was reading an article that defined culture shock as “An abrupt loss of the familiar that produces feelings of isolation and frustration. “ When I travel to other countries I spend a lot of time marveling at things that are very unfamiliar, and at some point I always find myself captivated by the idea that “this is normal to them!” It is humbling to realize that the way that I live is not the obvious best, but just one way to exist out of many. Living in a foreign language further magnifies these differences, because language shapes the way we see and interpret the world. It is very common here in Chile to begin sentences with “Gracias a Dios…” (which means thanks to God). Whereas we might say, “It’s nice that…” or “I’m lucky because…” Spanish speakers commonly attribute the good and enjoyable things in life to God. This has blessed me enormously as I now find myself giving praise to God for things I am excited about or thankful for. James 1:17 says that every good and perfect gift is from above, and the Spanish way of speaking reminds me daily that this is true.
I don’t think you can ever completely understand how much language shapes our thinking until you spend time living in another language. A friend once told me about how when she changes from her native English to speaking her second language, she feels her personality changes a little bit. That is, there are certain feelings and ideas that are not provided for in every language. For example, my Spanish-speaking self is never sarcastic (this is kind of a bad example because I’m sure there are plenty of sarcastic Spanish-speakers, but I just don’t know how to make my sarcasm properly understood). I am marveling every day at the way that my thinking is being changed and expanded by the lexicon and grammatical rules of Spanish. I also now have trouble translating things. When I learn a new word, I write the definition in Spanish because English translations are never enough to fully describe the full meanings of Spanish words. I feel you can’t really understand the richness and color in a culture until you start thinking like them (that is, in their language).
Earlier today I was speaking Spanish when a friend interrupted and asked me a question in English. My response was a sentence with English words in the order one would say them in Spanish. A look of complete shock passed over my face as I realized what I had done. It has not yet been a week but already Spanish is becoming part of the way I think, and I feel that English alone will never again be enough to express myself completely. With every day I spend here I realize more and more how much I don’t know and will never understand. However, gracias a Dios my heart is overflowing with wonder at the wide world he has made for us to explore—we can never run out of new and interesting things to experience! Oh how he loves us!
I don’t think you can ever completely understand how much language shapes our thinking until you spend time living in another language. A friend once told me about how when she changes from her native English to speaking her second language, she feels her personality changes a little bit. That is, there are certain feelings and ideas that are not provided for in every language. For example, my Spanish-speaking self is never sarcastic (this is kind of a bad example because I’m sure there are plenty of sarcastic Spanish-speakers, but I just don’t know how to make my sarcasm properly understood). I am marveling every day at the way that my thinking is being changed and expanded by the lexicon and grammatical rules of Spanish. I also now have trouble translating things. When I learn a new word, I write the definition in Spanish because English translations are never enough to fully describe the full meanings of Spanish words. I feel you can’t really understand the richness and color in a culture until you start thinking like them (that is, in their language).
Earlier today I was speaking Spanish when a friend interrupted and asked me a question in English. My response was a sentence with English words in the order one would say them in Spanish. A look of complete shock passed over my face as I realized what I had done. It has not yet been a week but already Spanish is becoming part of the way I think, and I feel that English alone will never again be enough to express myself completely. With every day I spend here I realize more and more how much I don’t know and will never understand. However, gracias a Dios my heart is overflowing with wonder at the wide world he has made for us to explore—we can never run out of new and interesting things to experience! Oh how he loves us!
Saturday, February 20, 2010
¡Bienvenidos a Chile!
This first picture was taken our second night in Chile. We had a welcome dinner for all the exchange students. The drink is my first Pisco Sour, the official drink of Chile. Pisco is a kind of brandy, and when mixed with eggs and lemon juice it is a Pisco Sour. They also mix Pisco with Coke, which is called a Piscola.
The second picture is one that I took of the city from the balcony of our hotel room the first day. SO BEAUTIFUL!
Hola hola! Many of you have been asking why I haven't updated my blog yet, and it's because I haven't had a moment to spare! Right now it is almost 3am and I just got back from hanging out with friends. They definitely operate on a different schedule here. We eat dinner at 8:30 or 9:00 and nobody starts hanging out at night until 11 or 12. It's hard to believe I have only been here for four days, I have learned so much in such a short time! We arrrived around 9am on Wednesday and after waiting for the rest of the flights to come in got to our orientation hotel around noon. Everyone in the group is fun and interesting in a different way, and so far I have had a great time getting to know everyone (there are about 40 of us in the program). Santiago is the most beautiful city I have ever seen. It is completely clean, cute, and beautiful. It has been in the mid 80s here every day and I am getting super tan!
My host family is FANTASTIC! My mom is the kindest, sweetest woman, and she always calls me "mi amor" (my love) or "mi gringita" (my little white girl). My dad is also very helpful (but a little more serious) and I have a 25 year old brother that I haven't met yet, although tonight I talked to him on the phone and he seems very nice. My mom told him I like to play tennis and he said he wants to play with me :) Also, my dad is the same height as me (and my mom is shorter)! haha. I have my own room and bathroom, and my house has a pool! Tomorrow I am having a bunch of friends over after church to lay by the pool and tan and eat and do homework (that's right, its not all fun here-we already have homework). We are taking a class called "Contemporary Chile" that is only for the Americans in our program. It is all day every day for the next two weeks, and we get two credits for it. It's basically a class to help us understand Chilean culture and politics. Then actual classes start two weeks from Monday. I am super nervous for those, but trying not to worry now because I still have two weeks to learn my way around the city and take a class with only gringos.
So far, the language has been both very fun and very frustrating. I now LOVE speaking spanish and am already having trouble thinking of words and spelling in English. On Thursday we signed our language contracts. We are only allowed to speak, read, or listen to English when we are communicating with people in the States or if it is an emergency. This means that even all of the Americans in my program only speak Spanish to each other! It is exhausting to try to speak Spanish when you know that the other person would understand you much easier if you were speaking to them in English, but they say that you learn Spanish much faster if you are not constantly switching between languages. I have even changed all the lanugage settings on my computer, email, facebook, etc. to Spanish. Let me tell you, it can be exhausting but I am pretty sure in these 4 days I have already learned more than I did in 7 years of lanuage classes.
I hope that all is well there in the States. I miss the familiarities of home, and being here can be lonely, but so far I am in good spirits as I know that I have been given the chance of a lifetime to learn and live in a different culture for 5 months. Also, in case anyone wants to know, I am three hours ahead of the central time zone (two ahead of you in Michigan). Thank you to all of you who have been contacting me via facebook and skype. Although I am busy here it is such an encouragement to know that you are thinking of me and praying for me. Thanks for reading, be talking to you soon!
The second picture is one that I took of the city from the balcony of our hotel room the first day. SO BEAUTIFUL!
Hola hola! Many of you have been asking why I haven't updated my blog yet, and it's because I haven't had a moment to spare! Right now it is almost 3am and I just got back from hanging out with friends. They definitely operate on a different schedule here. We eat dinner at 8:30 or 9:00 and nobody starts hanging out at night until 11 or 12. It's hard to believe I have only been here for four days, I have learned so much in such a short time! We arrrived around 9am on Wednesday and after waiting for the rest of the flights to come in got to our orientation hotel around noon. Everyone in the group is fun and interesting in a different way, and so far I have had a great time getting to know everyone (there are about 40 of us in the program). Santiago is the most beautiful city I have ever seen. It is completely clean, cute, and beautiful. It has been in the mid 80s here every day and I am getting super tan!
My host family is FANTASTIC! My mom is the kindest, sweetest woman, and she always calls me "mi amor" (my love) or "mi gringita" (my little white girl). My dad is also very helpful (but a little more serious) and I have a 25 year old brother that I haven't met yet, although tonight I talked to him on the phone and he seems very nice. My mom told him I like to play tennis and he said he wants to play with me :) Also, my dad is the same height as me (and my mom is shorter)! haha. I have my own room and bathroom, and my house has a pool! Tomorrow I am having a bunch of friends over after church to lay by the pool and tan and eat and do homework (that's right, its not all fun here-we already have homework). We are taking a class called "Contemporary Chile" that is only for the Americans in our program. It is all day every day for the next two weeks, and we get two credits for it. It's basically a class to help us understand Chilean culture and politics. Then actual classes start two weeks from Monday. I am super nervous for those, but trying not to worry now because I still have two weeks to learn my way around the city and take a class with only gringos.
So far, the language has been both very fun and very frustrating. I now LOVE speaking spanish and am already having trouble thinking of words and spelling in English. On Thursday we signed our language contracts. We are only allowed to speak, read, or listen to English when we are communicating with people in the States or if it is an emergency. This means that even all of the Americans in my program only speak Spanish to each other! It is exhausting to try to speak Spanish when you know that the other person would understand you much easier if you were speaking to them in English, but they say that you learn Spanish much faster if you are not constantly switching between languages. I have even changed all the lanugage settings on my computer, email, facebook, etc. to Spanish. Let me tell you, it can be exhausting but I am pretty sure in these 4 days I have already learned more than I did in 7 years of lanuage classes.
I hope that all is well there in the States. I miss the familiarities of home, and being here can be lonely, but so far I am in good spirits as I know that I have been given the chance of a lifetime to learn and live in a different culture for 5 months. Also, in case anyone wants to know, I am three hours ahead of the central time zone (two ahead of you in Michigan). Thank you to all of you who have been contacting me via facebook and skype. Although I am busy here it is such an encouragement to know that you are thinking of me and praying for me. Thanks for reading, be talking to you soon!
Sunday, February 14, 2010
Pack, Re-Pack, Be Packed
Well, its hard to believe that in just 48 hours I will (Lord willing) be boarding a flight to Santiago, Chile--my home for the next five months. I feel bipolar, as my emotions are constantly shifting from nervous to excited and back. The packing has gotten pretty intense, my biggest issue at the moment is that my bag weighs 6 pounds heavier than is allowed. Yikes. Anyway, if you got an email from me and have been invited to keep up with my travels through this blog, its because you have known me and been loved by me in some part of my life, whether you're a lifelong friend, fellow Hope student, or someone I connected with on another international experience. So thanks for being there for me in whatever capacity you have, and thanks for walking alongside me as I learn more about who I am and what God has for me. I am honored to have you in my life!
Let me give you a few pre-departure prayer requests. If you think of it, please pray:
-For safe travels to and from Santiago, and safety and health while I am in Chile.
-That all of the Spanish I have trudged through learning in the past 7 years will not leak out of my head before I get there, and that I will do well in my classes there despite the language difference.
-That I will both be a blessing and be blessed by my host family. A good relationship with them would make my time in Santiago exponentially better.
-That I will be challenged but sustained in my faith as I am there. Distance from my spiritual community could cause me to be complacent about growing in my relationship with God, but I pray that I am able to dig even deeper into my faith during my time away.
Last but not least, here is my long-awaited address in Chile. I would very much appreciate cards, letters, poems, music, art, money, books, food, pictures, and anything else you are legally allowed to send through the postal service. My birthday is April 21.
Amy Clinton
c/o CIEE
Diagonal Paraguay 265
Piso 17, Oficina 1701
Santiago, Chile
Also, make sure you see the post below about my phone number in Chile. Now I'm off to reckon with that extra 6 pounds.
Let me give you a few pre-departure prayer requests. If you think of it, please pray:
-For safe travels to and from Santiago, and safety and health while I am in Chile.
-That all of the Spanish I have trudged through learning in the past 7 years will not leak out of my head before I get there, and that I will do well in my classes there despite the language difference.
-That I will both be a blessing and be blessed by my host family. A good relationship with them would make my time in Santiago exponentially better.
-That I will be challenged but sustained in my faith as I am there. Distance from my spiritual community could cause me to be complacent about growing in my relationship with God, but I pray that I am able to dig even deeper into my faith during my time away.
Last but not least, here is my long-awaited address in Chile. I would very much appreciate cards, letters, poems, music, art, money, books, food, pictures, and anything else you are legally allowed to send through the postal service. My birthday is April 21.
Amy Clinton
c/o CIEE
Diagonal Paraguay 265
Piso 17, Oficina 1701
Santiago, Chile
Also, make sure you see the post below about my phone number in Chile. Now I'm off to reckon with that extra 6 pounds.
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
Phone # in Chile
Hi Everyone,
I just set up an online number through Skype so that you can call me while I am in Chile! I pay a base fee to purchase the number itself and then you can call it from your cell or landline here in the US for the same fee you would pay to call any local call. The number is 815-981-4574. Notice that it's an 815 number?! That means that you pay the same amount you would to call any other 815 number, even though I won't be in the 815 area code. So, it will charge you the same amount you pay now to call my everyday cell phone here in the US. I have call forwarding, so it first calls my Skype and if I'm not online it will forward it to my Chilean cell phone. Sweet huh? So you know what that means...I'm expecting lots of calls! You have no reason not to stay in touch :)
Be talking with you soon!
Amy
I just set up an online number through Skype so that you can call me while I am in Chile! I pay a base fee to purchase the number itself and then you can call it from your cell or landline here in the US for the same fee you would pay to call any local call. The number is 815-981-4574. Notice that it's an 815 number?! That means that you pay the same amount you would to call any other 815 number, even though I won't be in the 815 area code. So, it will charge you the same amount you pay now to call my everyday cell phone here in the US. I have call forwarding, so it first calls my Skype and if I'm not online it will forward it to my Chilean cell phone. Sweet huh? So you know what that means...I'm expecting lots of calls! You have no reason not to stay in touch :)
Be talking with you soon!
Amy
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