oof.

Dear Diary,

My brain is kind of scrambled right now. I had 2 pruebas this week.. and studying and trying memorize things in Spanish is completely different from my previous head-aching challenge of just trying to live in a Spanish speaking world. Pucha! I love it when I understand things in class and can attempt to participate in discussions and what not. But I also get emotionally pwned, as some of you who have lived with me before know, when I academically get pwned. That's something I know I need to work on. That grades and even having precise academic knowledge are not really that big of a deal. People fail from time to time. I'm human. I need seriously inject that in my head. God is good in that He humbles me in this aspect. Jajaja.

Anécdota: I probably just failed my prueba (test-midtermish thing) for my history class. I arrive to campus greeted by panic-stricken-looking gringos in my class flipping through pages of notes and assigned readings. I was honestly mixed about this test. On one hand I was calm and "sin-panic", but then again I was quite sure that I hadn't been understanding much of the lectures...at least to the degree that I would have liked to. Reading and memorizing certain facts from the lecturas was much harder than I thought. "Old Spanish" is comparably equally as difficult as "Old English"... or I'm just being humbled about my lack of familiarity in this language. Oof. (this is the sound chileans make when some gets pwned.) So pretty much we all (all 5 of us) sat in the class nerviously awaiting the professor. Btw. this professor has an extensive and super prestigious background. He's like 78 years old.. and won a big-deal premio nacional (national award) for being a historian. He's even on wikipedia (ingles..which has a way shorter profile) ! Based off of his experience and age, he's a uniquely grounded guy who has his way of doing things and no one can make him waver. So he comes shuffling in, smiling his old-man smile. Sits in the chair and leans back. At this point I had no idea that we had to use our own paper. (Most classes, at least from what I've heard, provide a sheet with a question on it at the very least). He leans back and starts orally giving the questions. 3 Questions. 1st one mandatory, and the 2nd and 3rd, we'd have to chose one. First of all, his questions were not in question format. That made things a tad difficult. It was something along the lines of: "the advancement of commercial liberation under the laws of the crown". And then he would dribble in some more information about what that would sort of entail. I don't really know.. but I'm sure I know enough Spanish to know that that ain't no question. Ok. so second question was equally, if not more, vauge and unquestion-like. So in sum, Diary, I think I did a horrible job. Partially because I was super unprepared. I know that's mi culpa. But partially too because I was so confused as to what the questions really meant. Andd. since there's nothing I can do. I need to get over it. Punto. Gracias. Weee.

el aire dulce y viaje sin plan.

So this is what they mean when they say the air is as sweet as honey when la primavera comes. I took a whimisicle trip to Cajon de Maipo with Christy and coming back caked in 3 day's worth of dirt, sweat, minerals, and only God knows what, I could not stop smiling while walking down the road with my massive green mochila and dusty pants. Breathing in and out was one of the most pleasant treats of Santiago I have partaken in in a while. How amazing that God can tickle our brains and hearts with the most simple of things. The air is filled with the sweetness of flowers and honey. And the perfect breeze. And how comforting to the heart to seet he sight of shedded-parka people, and kids playing in the illuminated parks at night. Winter is disappearing and spring is coming. God, why are you so amazing?

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cajón de maipo (aka): "wehavenoideawhatwe'redoingbutGod'swithus-trip"

This wonderful weekend has been so filled with happiness, peace, and more awe of God than before.

On Thursday I whimsically mass blasted a facebook message to some people asking whether or not they wanted to join me in my randomness and go to Cajon de Maipo. This place is sort of a local Yosemite for Santiaguinos.. I think. It has things ranging from picnicing with the family to horseback riding to hard-core mountaineering. Rad no? Only Christy, my UCsd buddy, decided to come along so.. on Friday, after collecting all my stuff together, we headed to, por metro, down to the 2nd to last stop of linea 4. And... we got off with our massive backpacks, not knowing what to do next. Thanks to the instructions of ever-so-wise Grace Mao Wu, we promptly asked a random person (or two.. or three) how to get to Maipo. They pointed us in the direction of a random corner.. and we jumped onto a blue metrobus. numero 72. payed the fee to our destination (which in reality, we had no idea where it was. We had only heard of the name). As about 40 minutes passed, the busy city scene turned into a tranquil, meadowy-looking, boonie-land. We poked each other motioning to ask someone on the bus where we should get off, where we could stay somewhere, etc. After a long time of throwing the job around, Christy finally asked a lady where we should get off if we wanted to get to the place and she poked us when the Plaza de Armas de San Jose came up. We jumped off and found ourselves in a tiny little pueblo with colorful houses, a tiny plaza, and a bunch of mini "supermercados".

And that was San Jose. We ventured around the pueblo asking people where we could stay and they pointed us to a few places. We eventually, after circling around the entire place, settled in a hospedaje... Tio Valentine. wee. After a night of finding places to eat... and talking in a poorly lit restaurante eating fresh fries and completos... we just hung out. and chilled. and talked about life and its complexities. Ah good times.

Pulling out mr. Lonely Planet, we came to an acuerdo that we both wanted to go to Baños Morales. So we asked the hostel lady about it.. and from what we gathered only one bus left from Santiago to the place... early in the morning, so we'd have to try to catch it. We woke up nice and early and stood at the corner asking nearly every micro that came by if it was "the one". We got a bit confused asking a bunch of random mountaneery-looking people because some had told us that the bus left already and passed, other said it was still coming, others advised us to hitch a ride with a private van that took people to Morales. After some nasty coffee and a jamon-queso sandwhich, we gathered and packed our fears of looking stupid (because we knew how unknowledgable we were) and asked the chofer if there were open spots to this place called "Baños". And thank the Lord there was. And off we went. And the road was bumpy and absolutely beautiful.

We jumped off and found ourselves surrounded in a tiny pueblo situated at the foot of the majestic peaks draped in blankets of white snow, whose population we discovered later on was 11 people. The other vistors were all people geared up in snow pants, huge backpacks with ropes, crampons, gaiters, ice axes, hiking poles, and the whole deal, getting ready to go mountainismoing. We, on the otherhand, had our gnarly one pair of bluejeans, running shoes, ghetto sleeping bags, and no palos (sticks) to hike with. "O well." We found Refugio Chicos Malos, hosted by a cheery lady with an extremely motherly personality. Her name was Isabel. She gladly made us comfortable, gave us beta about the hikes, lent us sweeet bamboo ski poles, and to Christy, a camo viser.

We stuffed my backpack with things we thought we'd need for the hike to El Monumento El Morado (whatever that was.. I don't think I know still.) Made our way towards the signs... ran into a mountain-marathon racing event... signed in the green house with the mr. CONAF ranger.. and subimos. Pretty much it was breathtaking. We were definitely not prepared for the hike, but we still went up. We met a ton of friendly mountaneeres and hard-core hiker people on the way up. I know people stared at us .. a strange sight we were indeed: us in our blue-jeans (while literally everyone else was in some form of water-proof pants, gaiters, and at LEAST hiking boots), sneakers, spiffy old bamboo ski pole, and one person carrying a lumpy pack of food, water, and a ghetto JUMBO sleeping bag. Our shoes of course started getting wet.. but we refused to backdown. The snow was getting pretty deep. Many times Christy and I fell through snow that went up to our shins and knees. At one point we found ourselves following, in a line formation, a group of mountaineeres who were trudging along with all their equipment to stay the night. A couple of hours later, we hit a level part of the mountain, a place were all the hard-corees were setting up their tents. We decided that we'd stop there too. We amaturely rolled our my ghetto sleeping bag onto a patch of dry dirt, pulled out some snacks, and just sat, marveling at God's creation before us.

Came down. Ate dinner. Delicious cazuela (the soup), and Christy's arroz con pollito. RICO. Since we were the only ones staying at the refugio, we pretty much hung out with them. A few of Isabel's friends stopped by. They taught us a few card games (vienteseis!), we had tecito, I learned to secrets of empanada making (theoretically), watched TV, and just talked a bit while having a DROP (literally) of manzanilla-flavored liquor. We met some caballeros, one Chilean-Australian and 2 Santiaguinos, who were UFO investigators. No joke. They showed us fotos of UFO ships they had taken. (go to http://galaxiaorion.blogspot.com/)
They said that they were true believers, and ever since they were kids they had been ufo hunting. They had "encounter stories" but didn't want to share them with us for fear of scaring us before we went to sleep.

Nos acostamos..actually, we HAD to sleep because the lights cut out at midnight... and slept in a bit. Woke up to the sun beaming on our faces.. the weather was warm enough to wear a short-sleeve t-shirt. We just took our time... having nothing planned to do except soak in the baños. Spent time outside having a late breakfast. There we met Balter, a lawyer/ ex-detective, Pablito-cute kid, and Pablito's dad. They were doing a day hike, and Pablo and his dad ended up going on the same returning van as us. They went off to subir the monte .. and we decided to walk around a bit before the piscina mineral.

Baño time! (baño=bath.. not toilet necessarily). It looked like spinach and carrot soup in a massive hole. HAha. But we were there anyways so we decided to dip in. It supposedly has minerals that are good for you. And it wasn't really that warm. (about 73 degrees). But it was nice.. and the sun was out. So after dipping in and swimming around for a while, we soaked some sun.

After a nice dip, we had lunch, packed up... and lounged around until 5. we ended up going in the same van we came in... (and also last-minutely asking if there was space in the van for us-- another Praise God moment because if there wasn't space I don't know how we would have gotten back... ) and off we went.. regresando a Santiago, where the aire dulce bloomed.

"Good night moon"

estoy super contenta! (for you carla: i am super happy)

I just wanted to share that I am happy right now. and life is so good. and God is so so good, sweet, awesome, beautiful, and true. PRAISE GOD all the time for life. meditating on His testimonies, holding onto His promises. ah. so refreshing.. en serio (for realz).

'And I said, "This is my anguish;
But I will remember the years of the right hand of the Most High."
I will remember the works of the Lord;
Surely I will remember Your wonders of old.
I will also meditate on all Your work,
And talk of Your deeds.
Your way, O God, is in the sanctuary;
Who is so great a God as our God?
You are the God who does wonders?
You have declared your strength among the peoples.
You have with Your arm
redeemed Your people,
The sons of Jacob and Joseph
Selah
Psalm 77:10-15 (nkjv)

Y me pongo a pensar: «Esto es lo que me duele:
que haya cambiado la diestra del *Altísimo.»
Prefiero recordar las hazañas del Señor,
traer a la memoria sus milagros de antaño.
Meditaré en todas tus proezas;
evocaré tus obras poderosas.

Santos, oh Dios, son tus *caminos;
¿qué dios hay tan excelso como nuestro Dios?

Tú eres el Dios que realiza maravillas;
el que despliega su poder entre los pueblos.
Con tu brazo poderoso redimiste a tu pueblo,
a los descendientes de Jacob y de José. Selah

Salmos 77:10-15 (nvi)


it is so so so sweet. gah.

la despedida (the farewell). doggies and more.

1) Today one of our UCSDians is going back to EEUU. We had a joyful but also reflective and nostalgic despedida. A night full of stories, monologues, singing, completos, cake to sweet for words, endless suprises, and a air of hope and of farewell anticipations mingling together. Jenn came here at first being restless and depressed. But her last months here were life-changing. She became parts of families, a sister and daughter, despite what people had said to her. That six months wasn't enough to build lasting relationships here. But she, or rather God, proved the contrary. It was funny how I met Jenn here in Chile even though we were in the same university in San Diego. It's funny how she first heard my song and then met me.. and it was as if we had always known each other. I know I'll be seeing her again at UCSD, and I also know she'll be going back to Chile. It's bittersweet. But this despedida is giving me a glimpse of the mixed emotions that I will probably face when it comes time for me to go. It's been 2 months and more... and time is truly flying. I feel like I'm living here. Not just an extranjera staying for a while, or just a gringo student in the university, but I am starting to feel like a part of Chile and people's lives in Chile. Although I don't doubt that taking every weekend to travel/backpack somewhere is an exciting adventure, I think I can confidently say that living here, finding those little picadas, spending time with friends, knowing your way around, being known in class, and ademas feeling comfortable in a class full of Chileans, grabbing lunch with other foreigners that aren't from EEUU and hearing about their way of life; and on the more spiritual side, being able to share the deep commonaility of faith with others despite language/culture differences, growing in faith day by day... all of this is equally, if not even more, adventerous.

mmmhm.

2) The past nights I've been going home later, I feel like all the street dogs have been following me, accompanying me home. For example, tonight, I walked about 15 minutes by myself (I know, not safe), but this cute white dog was following me until I got to my block... and when I turned around it was nowhere to be found. Haha.

3) Classes are getting busier. I'm starting to realize how much work I have to do.. which is good for me because my brain has become a bit mushy. After this week (a big fat national holiday-fiestas patrias) the ola of pruebas are coming. Weee. But I really enjoy my classes. On the not so fun side of things, I have research papers to do and stacks of photocopied books to read. Oh the life of the student is never different in el fondo.

4) September 11 is coming up. The aniversary of Allende's death... meaning campus will be closed because there will be massive strikes, marches, and violent whatnots. Although I'm curious as to how things will turn out. But then again, I've been strongly advised not to stick my nose around. After that, fiestas patrais will explode in this country and it'll be curazzzy. I'm thinking about doing little trips here and there... but I will definitely be back for the 18th.

5) Luz al Mundo changed locations and time! It's now ubicada en a cute little chapel and now empieza a un tiempo menos tarde ni tan temprano. I love that church.

6) Oh and I joined a soccer class for fun. YES.

And random pictures:

la busqueda.

long story short: (the long story will come) i'm moving and i'm looking for un depto. y Dios es asombroso.

wanted: 35345034 alarms.

So I've proven to the world that I need a lot of alarms. or a better sleep schedule. Despite 2 alarms sounding (one across the room), I totally missed an important trip to the mines in El Teniente.. because I woke up 20 minutes too late. Ops. I realize that it's a serious problem, but sometimes I just throw my head back and laugh at how bad I am at waking up. I'm sort of mixed on this one. If this trip wasn't an obligatory field trip for our EAP class, I would less frustrated... but at the same time.. I deserve the culpa... oh what to do with me. As much I as I hate to say it, I really now appreciate the times that Jenny, every morning in high school, yelled "GRAaace WAKE Uppp". I need more alarms.

Boo.

finally back to college life.

I'm finally feeling like I'm back to studying-mode.. that would include ultimate procrastination skills put to work..late nights/ early mornings of leer y escribir informes... eating snacks (p.s. plum yogurt is the worst idea in the world).. reading other people's blogs... writing in my own. yep. College, I'm back!