Skiing, Eating and Drinking Wine

Random fact: there is a "river" running through the city and it is quite strange. It has been cemented in, like a canal, but the canal is much too big for it - made that way for when it rains so it doesn't flood. So basically it looks, and smells, like a large open gutter running through the city.

I spend a lot of time in bed here because it has the electric blanket. Sometimes it makes me feel like I'm sick because that is the only time I ever spend this much time in bed in the US.

I've had some better interaction with the family. They are nice and they always were so I can't blame them for not having a more exciting lifestyle and therefore not involving me in it. On Wednesday I went food shopping with my mom again and we stocked up on lots of fruits, vegetables, and cereal, which is basically all I need. Got some conversation about the health care system in on the way because some relatives that came over on the weekend drove up from their city about 10 hours south of Santiago to see a specialist. My mom said that for good medical treatment everyone has to come to Santiago. She told me that her dental work gets sent to a lab in the US! One day we tried to help Andrea (sister) pick which pair of boots to keep - a silly detail but something I would do with my (real) mom so it was cute. Also I told my mom more about our Peru travel plans and asked her for advice because she has been up there. I'm still her go-to with all computer issues (like when her screen inexplicably flipped sideways or a shortcut stopped working), which is cute. So yeah, no legitimate family complaints.

Another canceled class that the Chileans all got an email about but we obviously didn't. On a more organized note my internship is more or less settled. I will be working with the English Opens Doors program starting this week as a teacher's assistant in an all-girls high school.

Club de Comilones (aka club for people who like to eat a lot) was started after we all spent too long reading restaurant reviews on the Revolver website. We are unofficially planning to go out for dinner every Thursday and try out a new place. This week was Vietnamese, my first time ever. Not the most amazing food ever but it was a nice change and cute place.

Skiing in the Andes: On Friday we went skiing to Farrellones - another free trip organized by our program. We all rented gear at this huge ski complex right in Santiago that morning and crammed into two vans for the hour and a half trip up. We were warned repeatedly that the drive up was very windy and indeed there were 40 (labelled) switchbacks. For more than half the group it was their first time but some got pretty good quickly. Since most of us didn't bring ski clothing a bunch of people bought amazing neon 80s full body ski suits at used stores for around $5. The resort was tiny with probably 5 trails total and none were very challenging. They were all also short which was the biggest shortcoming for me, because in terms of difficulty there was a trail that was fine for me. Also no chair lifts, just t-bars, which is basically a bar pushing you under your butt as your skis stay on the ground. My first time on those and I probably got as much of a workout on the lift as while skiing. The views were amazing and by the end of the day my legs were quite sore so it was a good trip. The ride back included some great discussion topics from vomit, to puppies, to racist Disney movies, to society's responsibility in raising children not to hate, to cow tipping, to cat vomit, to themed weddings. We might try to organize our own trip to one of the better ski resorts but if not then I'm already satisfied.

Went to my first ever Karaoke bar, which included a performance of a Bon Jovi song by Maca y las gringas (Becca's older host sister and us).

This Saturday Emily had a "bring your own wine and favorite drunk snack" night at her apartment which was really fun. Her host brother and his friend also hung out with us and I think it is really nice when host siblings want to hang out, especially with a mob of gringo friends.

(This seems like a choppier entry because I'm lazy and copy-pasted parts of my journal. This multiple blog for multiple audiences thing is hard to keep up with.)