“Just do your best, it’s the only way to keep that last bit of sanity”

Who knew food could cause such a disturbance in a household? I have my host family in a state of confusion/panic over my eating habits, they keep pushing food at me… as in literally sliding plates of pan (bread), jamon (ham), stews, and just about anything else they can find lying around to feed me. Well, you see in Chile their eating habits are drastically different than us ol’ Americanos. They skip breakfast, usually having just a piece of bread and a little instant coffee, there lunch is around 1:30, onces (pre-dinner) about 7:00, and then cenar (dinner) at 10:00 pm. My host mother (much like my own mother) wants nothing more than to take care of her little family (which now includes me) by: cooking, cleaning, and overall just making sure everyone is fed, warm and happy.

Here’s an example, I left my suitcase half unpacked and went out to explore the town on Tues., well I came home to a remade bed (as in she went in behind me and remade it), an unpacked suitcase (oh yeah, she unpacked my entire suitcase) and my clothes hanging on the line outside our little home (because she had taken it upon herself to do my laundry)… including my unmentionables. I was somewhat startled. When I walked into the kitchen she was waiting on me with food laid out across the table and yes you guessed it… pan, jamon and queso. There is only so many times you can tell this little lady no. I mentioned to her my love of fruit yesterday morning while we were studying our English and Spanish together at the kitchen table and when I came home from visiting my new school there were three baskets of fruit in the kitchen. Of course, I had to immediately eat a piece of each with her watching… which to be honest I was starting to get pretty hungry anyway; grilled cheese gets old quickly.

So, I am warm, fed and happy. What more could a person ask for?

My family, the Ida’s, are quite the hip Chileans. Mi mama listens to music all throughout the day. Mi papa came home last night from driving his Collectivo (I think I explained this prior, but it’s like a cab except it runs set routes all day) and turned on a DVD titled, The Best Music of the 80’s. We rocked out for a while; which means we pointed, laughed and spoke sentences the other didn’t understand. They’re big fans of karaoke around here so they have already told me to warm up my vocals chords because they want to hear some sangin’. I have a feeling after the one time they hear me I want be asked again.
So, here I am living amongst the natives.
While in Santiago it was easy to forget the reason I signed up for this great adventure. I was surrounded by English folks that spoke Spanish which left me disillusioned in the fact that I would eventually be all alone to fend/speak for myself. The Chilean Government footed our meals during our stay in Santiago which meant I pretty much got to eat whatever I wanted. So you can imagine my surprise when my host mother set down a plate of food in-front of me before handing me a menu and asking what I would be having. Oh gees.
I’ve walked around the city of Punta Arenas every day since being here and I look at the mountains then go walk alongside the beach and I am amazed, you realize I can actually look at the mountains while walking on the beach right? Usually, I have Home by Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros playing on my Ipod, which I highly recommend you listen to incase you haven’t heard it yet. I am constantly lost, constantly confused and all I want sometimes is to curl up in my mom’s (Debbie Lane) bed and watch TV with her. Then I look around and I evaluate. I am a foreigner living amongst some of who have never had contact with the English language, or gringos. Haha. It kills that I am there first American experience… they just have no idea. My accent turns the little Spanish I do speak into hogwash. And guess what… Chileans don’t use the letter –S, they completely threw out an entire letter from the alphabet. Laughing, I am also constantly laughing, it’s the only way to survive. I am so happy, sad, confused, excited, and nervous all the time. It’s quite the natural high to be honest.

I love you and I want to quit missing you.