the skirt is gone...thank goodness!!!

Wednesday...I started a blog last thursday night, but never got around to finishing it, so we`ll have some cut and paste action going on. However, some of that info is now irrelevant. For example, the track meet that was sposed to be a large part of saturday was cancelled due to weather. (Which has been horrible by the way...rain and cold, rain and cold, rain and cold...) I woke up this morning with my throat feeling very weird and therefore did not go to school. I figured better to miss one more day than continue being sick on my trip to Torres del Paine this weekend. (I actually leave tomoro, hence the blog entry before the trip)
I slept in and then got stuff together, now waiting on the backpack to put it all in. And yes mom, I did buy new hiking shoes, north face..they are awesome! (I didn`t have any in canada either, so figured since I`m going to one of the best places in the world to backpack..i might as well get some good shoes, i don`t want a repeat of my knee accident!!)
In other exciting news..we were told monday morning that we were allowed to wear pants to school in the afternoon due to the bad weather. Originally, this doesnt happen until the first of may, so you can imagine the excitement!! Luckily, Karen`s pants fit me decently (a big big..but more comfy...) so I was able to go in pants right away. the girls who went in skirts in the afternoon were bugged abit...good naturedly of course.
Going backwards...the weekend! I guess I should first tell about last weekend and move forward...
We had an adventure last sunday afternoon...Mema and I went to my grandparents house and when we arrived, everyone was excited to tell us about an american guy in Punta Arenas who had some connection with Karen. Unfortunately, the phone number that had been copied didn`t work, but we did have the name of the hostal. We went around town later, looking for the place, and when we didn`t find it, came back here to see if he had called our house. Yuppers! We called the place (thank goodness for phones that record the numbers...) and then went to meet him. Turns out, his mom is a Rotarian in karen`s city. He has never met her tho. He has been traveling in south america since september, recently parted ways from his 2 other american friends. He has been staying at our house since monday. It`s been fun. The other day, I helped him sell his motorbike...because his spanish is so-so..and he can`t communicate everything or understand everything (altho I was impressed...) Mema recently started an english course that her cousin teaches, and so I have passed on some of the books i used to learn spanish on to her... The other day she asked me to photocopy pages of a mini dictionary thing I had....but I decided to buy her a dictionary of her own instead. I left it as a little present for when she got home (I had gone to the gym.) Johanna went up north for the long weekend so was not home to meet kevin much..only about 20 minutes. The long weekend only had one day off in chile..but she stayed for a week, and got home sunday morning at 3 am. It was lucky for kevin tho, because he had a place to sleep.
Other things....there are so many little stories, i just don`t know where to begin. I actually wrote some stuff down awhile ago when I was bored in class, and then lost the list (typical!)
Last thursday during break in the afternoon, the sound system was set up in the hall, and one of my friends started playing reggaeton and then ppl in my class started dancing..and we had a dance party for the 15 minute break. There was a mosh pit almost, kids fell, and water was thrown. I had memories of west hill dances...except that it was short and we were all in school uniforms (and it was in the day....) Fun times... Words can`t even describe it..things got vicious for a bit haha..some of my friends aren`t allowed to go to the discos...and i mentioned that school is more dangerous than the disco!!
Ok..now this past weekend....Friday, I didn`t have classes in the afternoon so Kevin and I went to town and walked around. I took him to Kiosco Roco (best choripan and leche con platano in town) and then we wandered around town. I also dragged him into some outdoorsy stores to look for my hiking boots. ( I say dragged because it was like torture for him, because he wanted so much stuff, but due to his limited space, couldn`t buy it) We also saw a huge carrot, and so decided to buy it (random i know....and we never actually ate it! he took it with him for the rest of his travels). Later, we came home and hung out, played guitar (my music teacher started to teach me a bit of guitar..) and then headed out for some live music. We had been thinking it would be spanish music..but it was covers of english bands, so we headed out to a disco. A friend of mine, Javiera, was with us too. (After all, the disco is a true Chilean experience...which he had not been to yet..)
Saturday, we went to go see my schools team play futsal. (We won). There was about 30 of us or so cheering the team on, complete with drums and everything. It was pretty sweet. I learned some of the school cheers (altho don`t ask me to repeat them now..i`ll have to relearn them...) Later in the afternoon (after lunch at home) we walked to the local beer brewery because we wanted a tour, but it wasn`t open for tours...bummer. We met Clau in town, and then ended up seeing other friends of mine too. We headed back to my house, where I ate and changed quickly because I had to be at a friends at 9. (we got home at quarter to 8). I had a bit of an adventure finding my friends house..the house numbers are the same on 2 streets, one behind the other..and i turned down the first not the second. I called her and said I was outside her house...but the wrong house! Oops..haha. Afterwards, we went to the disco and i ended up spending most of the night with a group of people from school, because the people i had gone with weren`t really dancing, instead complaining about how full it was so I wasn`t really up for that. (It was packed..difficult to cross the dance floor at times!) Sunday, I was going to get up to get chacarreros for lunch, but woke up late.....Kevin, Mema, and I went to town to get my shoes and then we went to my grandparents for the one month birthday of my baby cousin. From there, Kevin went to Puerto Natales in bus. Later that night (after chinese checkers...i lost brutally!!!), my sister Nelvia called me and we had an awesome chat.
Monday and Tuesday...classes as usual (minus the finally being allowed to wear pants...) I walked witha girl from my class to the gym after school monday, and we got soaked!!! We took some pics with her cellphone when we got there, it was ridiculous. The streets were rivers!! (Its a good thing i wore my heeled boots to school...to cross the puddles!) Well..i should head out, that was a little glimpse into my life...)
In other exciting news...I have reformed my host family in some ways. My host mom now really likes pan integral (brown bread) and has said she is only going to buy that :) And also, I put the french fries in the oven last weekend, and now she has said she will always do them that way too...yay
I have begun to really realize how little time left I have....so am trying to pack things in, people ask me if i want to go....and its one of the weirdest sensations I have ever had. Of course I want to see friends, family, home! (my bed, etc) but at the same time, I know that even if/when! I return, it will never be the same...It`s like i`m excited to arrive home, but not excited to leave here...
chau, besitos
ps...it says i published this the 12th of april..but its the 18th..i started the draft the 12th...