lovin' on some niños, walking a few miles, eating helado...this is the life :)

This morning I had class as usual & we're talking about the dictatorship of Pinochet who was a dictator in Chile from 1973 to 1990.  The history of Chile is so interesting but the things Pinochet did really were terrible.  Either Friday or next Wednesday we're going to see one of the concentration camps where he tortured citizens who did not obey his commands which will be a difficult tour.  This afternoon after lunch I started volunteering at the orphanage, Hogar de Niños!  I absolutely loved volunteering there...the kids are so sweet as well as the ladies working there.  There are 13 children there ranging from 18 months to 5 years.  There are 2 girls and the rest are boys.  Two of the boys are brothers, two others are twins, and a girl & baby boy are siblings.  We hiked up a cerro (large hill/small mountain) to get there and when we arrived, the kids had just woken up from their naps and they were having a snack.  We played with them inside for a little while since it was so hot outside but after a little while we were able to go to the patio.  They have tons of toys outside so we played with balls, blocks, and Barney. :)  One little boy named Luis was extremely sweet and he played with Laura Kate most of the time, but with me some as well.  We played soccer with him and build a castle.  I also played a lot with a little girl who wouldn't tell me her name.  She was so cute though.  All of the kids there really just need and want attention so it was amazing to be able to provide that for them, even if it was just for a few hours.  The children call one lady "mama" and they call all of the other helpers "tia" (auntie) which I thought was really cute.

After the orphanage I went home and had tea time with Mama, her aunt, her cousin, & Rodrigo.  Then I finished a paper for class tomorrow and I had a small dinner (Potato, Pumpkin, & Meat soup with salad).  Dinner was extremely good!  After that I went on a 2 hour walk with Mama around the city and on our way back we got helado.  We left at 10 and just got back at midnight.  There were a ton of people out...in Chile people literally don't go home/to sleep until about 2.  It's so different and kind of fun but us Americans get tired way before the Chileans.  It was a very good workout though but I need sleep now!  Hablarte mañana!