Jueves

Today was a little different.  I had classes then I came home for lunch and Pastor Henry was here.  We had lunch with him and one of Mama's friends.  They asked about my travels and were very interested in my mission trip to Ecuador so it was a blessing to tell them about how God worked in and through us on that trip.  At 4 I went to Nino de Amor to volunteer.  It was our last day so we stayed there until 530.  U hurried home and put on a dress for my skype interview.  I did a little work before but I couldn't focus so I skyped Dad for a while.  After my interview I did homework then ate dinner.  Then I did more homework and Mama spell checked my presentation.  Then I did more homework and went to bed....obviously we had a lot of work today!

Miercoles

Okay so obv I've been slack with the blog but I've been updating my journal so I'm just going to copy from it....

Today we had classes for FOREVER because Veronica decided that we love grammar and like to have it 24/7.  After class everyone went to the artisan fair and walked around.  We found this cute booth with all new stuff so that was cool.  Then all the freshman girls went to a Mediterranean restaurant on the way home.  We had these little wraps and it was really good, especially with hummus and salsa.  After that I went home and did work until 630 when I went to church with Mama and LK.  It lasted for 3 hours and it was really fun.  There was a meditation thing first and it was interseting--people talked about places where they feel close to God so it was neat to hear that.  During the sermon Pastor Henry asked me to read a verse so that was cool...it was actually one of my favs Phil. 4:8.  Back at home I did work after I had tea with Mama.  Then I sat on the porch with Rodrigo & his friends for a little while.  At this point it was 1 am so I went to sleep soon after.

Typical Tuesday

Today was a typical day...long, simple, & fun!  I had class this morning and it was sooo long...Veronica keeps adding extra classes because she was sick/we had to miss a day for a required field trip...annoying.  Anyway we had that then I went home and did my homework because I had a ton.  Then Gardner called to say that we didn't have to volunteer at the orphanage today because they weren't going to be back until later tonight because they had all gone somewhere.  Rodrigo proofread my paper so that was really helpful then I went to the artisan fair for a little while with Laura Kate.  Then, tonight I went to a restaurant called Morena's with Anna Grace, Sarah Grace, and Elizabeth.  Elizabeth's host brother works there so he was our waiter and he kept getting in trouble for talking to us too much haha  It was so much fun & we enjoyed just sitting there talking for a few hours!  Next we went to Mo's (aka the best helado in all of Chile) and got some ice cream then went home.  Everyone else was at some event down by the ocean but we were too tired to go/Anna Grace had to get back home to her sister's birthday party.  When I got home Mama started showing me something on tv and before I knew it it's 1 am and we're looking at family pictures.  It was neat to see their family though and to show her mine.  I'm so tired though so I definitely need to sleep now.

Volcano Villarrica!!

This past weekend was so much fun!  On Friday night, at 7:00, I met Sarah Grace, Elizabeth, and Laura Kate to walk to the bus station together.  I was loaded down with my bookbag full of clothes & some books.  We met everyone else at Lider (Chilean Wal-Mart) to get a few snacks for the bus ride.  Then we went to the bus station to wait for our 8:30 bus.  We were extremely early because we did not want a repeat of our Santiago experience, especially since this ticket was much more expensive and since the next bus left in another 24 hours.  Our bus left late so we made the bus on time...obviously.  The bus ride was pretty interesting...one time I woke up to the attendant putting a blanket on me so that was a little creepy but overall it was okay because I got some sleep.  We arrived in Pucon 12 hours later at 9:20 am.  We literally walked a few steps to the building beside the bus station which just so happened to be our hostil.  It was actually nice compared to other ones I've heard about.  Our rooms weren't ready yet so we went a few blocks into town and ate breakfast at a cafe.  Then I met Elizabeth's family friends that live an hour away in Tumocu...they haven't seen her since she was a baby so they came to visit.  We went back to the hostil and changed into bathing suits to go on our tour of the city/visit to the hot springs.  Our tour left at 2:30 and we went to a Mapuchi reservation first.  To get there we had to get out of the van and walk across a not-so-sturdy bridge...once we were walking and a car drove across it and we had to squeeze up against the sides so it didn't hit us...not so fun but it all worked out.  This Ruca Mapuchi was much more interesting than the other one we went to.  There were little shops and lots to do but we were there for just a little while.  We left there and went to a waterfall, then a lake, then two more waterfalls.  To get to the last one, we climbed this hill through the forest and were able to stand at the top of one waterfall & look at another one behind it.  It was really cool!  After the waterfalls we went to the hot springs!  It was extremely hot but we found one pool that wasn't too hot & nobody was in there because it was kind of shallow so it became the "gringo pool."  We were there for 2 hours then we left and went back to the hostil.

Back at the hostil a barbecue was going on.  Tara, Elizabeth, LK, SG, & I went to the grocery store to get lunch for the next day then joined everyone out back for the festivities.  We now have some good British friends...they were also staying at the hostil, they're probs in their 30s & they're hilarious.  We left at 11 or so to go to bed because we had to be up at 4 the next morning.

On Sunday we woke up at 4 because we had to be ready by 4:30.  It was a little bit of a disaster for a little while during the getting ready time because everyone was running around in a hurry but we all made it on the bus and drove for a while to the base of the mountain in full gear.  Once we got there, the guides attached picks & sleds to our special backpacks and with only an introduction of names, we began our hike.  No safety briefing.  No signing of release forms. Welome to a country other than America.  The first hill was so steep and after a while I was breathing heavily trying to catch my breath thinking...oh great, I forgot my inhaler back in Vina...awesome.  Needless to say, I quickly fell to the back of the group.  All was well though because one of the very kind guide assistants, Nicolas, walked a little slower with me.  After the second stop Anna Grace & Gardner joined us at our slower pace.  Nicolas got mad at us sometimes for being slow and yelled at us to hurry up so we could catch up to everyone else but that never really happened.  The main guide was literally running up thr mountain and we just wanted to enjoy the scenery at a calmer pace.  Once we hiked up this giant mountain of snow it was time for another break & Nicolas said we were only half way.  It had been hours and we hadn't just hiked up a little hill.  We had hiked up a mountain and we were about to have to hike up basically another mountain on top of this one to get to the mouth of the volcano.  We started to go for it but decided to turn around when the British people came back down.  They said it wasn't very safe because of the wind and ice as well as on-coming storm so we started making the treck back down the mountain with Nicolas while all the brave people went up.  I was a little disappointed in myself but we made it very far so I didn't feel too bad.  We actually had a good time going down the mountain.  No pressure to hurry...we just relaxed and joked the whole time.  Nicolas was constantly laughing at us and he only got mad when we "accidently" slid down the snow when we weren't supposed to.  We made it down to some rocks and we stayed there for over an hour waiting for everyone else then we started walking again.  Finally they all caught up because they got to slide down the snow on their boards since the ice had melted my the time they came down.  We kept going while they took a break and everyone met up at the bottom.  It was so much fun & challenging! I'm glad we did it!

After that we went back to the hostil, showered, and went to dinner.  Then at 8:30 we boarded our bus and drove through the night back to Vina.  This morning, we got here and I rested for a while then had lunch with the fam.  Next Elixabeth, SG, LK, & I went to the beach.  Overall it was a great weekend!! Such a neat experience :)

This Weekend~Hiking a Volcano!!

Today was pretty simple..I woke up early to study some, went to class, had a test, then got out 3 hours early because our 2nd teacher was sick.  I went to the mall with Gardner, Anna Grace, Sarah Grace, and Elizabeth and we just walked around for a little while, took Elizabeth's camera to a Nikon store to charge, and ate lunch at Bravissimo.  We went to the counter to pay and I handed the lady a $1000 peso for my meal that was like $4000 pesos.  She just started laughing at me and it was so awkward/funny then I had to step out of line and find pesos and then when I was paying she was making fun of me and telling this other lady haha..so awkward.  After the mall we rode back to Calle Arlegui and SG and I got her money out and waited for Laura Kate to get money out too.  Then I came home and ate lunch and skyped with Mom, Nana, and Papa.  Right now I'm skyping with Dad.  In a little while I'm going to meet all my friends at the bus stop and we're going to leave for our 10 hour bus ride to Pucon!! We'll arrive there in the morning and tomorrow we're going to the hot springs nearby.  Then on Sunday, at 4:30 am our tour to hike the volcano will leave. The entire hike should take 9 hours then when we return we'll get on our bus to come home and get here in Vina in the morning.  Everyone is so excited!!  The next time I talk to everyone I will have hiked a volano :)

Jorge el Curioso

This is going to be quick because I'm exhausted/we have a test tomorrow and I'm studying.  This morning we had class...it was pretty boring because we were doing all this grammar stuff.  But the other class was interesting when Chris & Anna Grace gave their presentations on Sebastian Pinera and the girl who is the number one most influential person on Forbes list this year...she was in charge of the protesting about education...I can't remember her name.  After class I went home for lunch.  We had pasta with tuna, peppers, and salad.  It was good!  After lunch I met LK and we walked to Nino de Amor together.  Today I mostly read Jorge el Curioso a bunch of times to some kids then I played with the baby a little before we left because he had just woken up from his nap.  The orphanage was so fun today because there were other volunteers there so all the kids were getting tons of attention so everyone was really happy :)  After volunteering Tara, SG, Gardner, and I walked toward this secluded beach and met Elizabeth for helado.  Then Tara, LK, Elizabeth and I went to the little beach to do homework for a little while.  After that I went home and packed for Pucon tomorrow!! Then I had dinner and since then I've skyped home and talked to Mom, Payton, Drew & Logan.  Then I skyped Jordan for a few minutes and we connected Savannah and Elizabeth.  It wasn't great connection so Jordan went to Savy's room and we all had a little roomie chat so that was fun.  Then Elizabeth and I skyped and studied for our test and now I'm about to review a little more and go to sleep!

Moody's Aren't Mapuche

Before I get going with today, let me tell about my embarrassing moment last night.  First I need to set up the scene: our apartment building is right beside another one and we're on the second to highest floor so we can see lots of people below us in the next building over.  So, here I am just working on my computer and I hear this really loud music coming from outside.  We are really close to the beach and there have been several concerts there so I figured it was a concert. Wrong. Anyway, I was like oh cool!  This will be something good to get on video.  So I grab my camera and crack my window some, barely pulling back my curtains because I don't want any neighbors to think I'm crazy.  A guy is out on his balcony so I wait for him to go inside then I start videoing in the general direction of the beach.  As I standing there, I see the guy looking at me from inside the window and I'm like um okay great what's going on...he comes outside and starts laughing at me and turns his stereo up.  yep that's right...definitely not a concert.  Needless to say I was laughing so so hard and I ran back inside.  I looked out again and noticed some homemake wii dance going on.  In the same apartment people had a large screen tv up on youtube and they were dancing in front of it.  It was really funny so I videoed that for a sec because my friends across the way had already made fun of me so I had nothing to be ashamed of.  It was def the highlight of my day yesterday :)

Today, we had class for 3 hours then we ate lunch at UVM.  I had a pretty good turkey sandwhich and pear today.  After lunch Chris, Laura Kate, and I went to the artisan fair so Chris could get some shoes and everyone else went to the park.  We left there and met everyone else at the park after Chris got his $8 toms knockoffs.  At the park I found a four leaf clover so that was cool.  Then we walked back to UVM to meet Marisol for our field trip.  A little after 3 pm we went to the metro and rode for about 30 minutes.  We got off in a tiny ghost town and walked for about 15 minutes.  Hidden behind some trees was our destination...one Mapuchi hut.  We were like um...okay then.  We were under the impression that we were going to a large Mapuchi village complete with several totem poles, huts, and well...Mapuches walking around living their lives.  Instead we walked into the hut and one very kind lady who was half Mapuchi taught about Mapuchi culture for an extremely long time from a powerpoint.  While I have a great respect for these indigenous people of Chile, I was very glad that the Moody's aren't Mapuche.  After the presentation we ate some Mapuche food.  I liked two things--one was the type of bread that I put honey on and the other was this chocolate manjar ball wrapped in oats.  The other food was just a little too spicy and oaty for me.  After a longgg time we left the hut and rode the metro back to Vina.  When we got back everyone just went home and since I've gotten back I've just done my homework, eaten dinner, and skyped with the fam + Mimi.  I was disappointed that I couldn't go to church with Mama tonight...I just had so much homework and we have a test Friday so I'm studying for that too.  Hope everything's going well in America & with the SC primary tomorrow, I hope everyone's making wise decisions about who to vote for!!!