It has been so long since I have last updated, so this post is going to be quite large. I apologize in advance, but a lot has happened!

My 16 year old host sister came back from her exchange in the US a month before I left Chile, and it was really cool to finally meet her, since we had talked so much online. We spent a lot of time together and became really close in such a short period of time. Plus, i had someone to speak English to! I spent the last few weeks of school taking a million pictures and spending time with friends. The friends i made in Chile were like no one else i have ever met. I was remembering back to my first day of school...Everyone was so interested in me, and approached me without fear. They were so welcoming and I felt so loved and safe. It was something I had never experienced in the USA and i loved it. I really didn't even have to try to make friends, because everyone was so easy to be friends with. It seemed so far back in the past that all of it had begun, but at the same time, it had all gone by so quickly. On my last day of school, I had my class sign my backpack so that I would have a little bit of everyone that i could have with me at school in the US.

We left for a two week vacation in Brazil on my last day of school. We drove 4 hours to Santiago, stayed the night in a hotel there, and left at 5am the next morning to catch our 7:30 flight, which was delayed until 12:30pm.....So we chilled in the airport with some donuts.. We got into Rio de Janeiro in the evening, and then took a two a half our bus ride to the town of Buzios, where we then transferred into a van which took us to the resort we would stay at. We were starving and tired from the long day of traveling, so after eating, we hit the hay. It turns out the place we were staying wasn't officially open, so a lot of the activities weren't available, like the trapeze and a few of the pools. It also meant that it wasn't packed full of people, which was nice. It was hot, even though it was the dead of winter in Brazil. I hung out with my sisters by the pool, attempted to skate, played mini golf with the whole family, played beach volleyball with kids from all over the world, beat my sisters in guitar hero, and ate a ton of food. One day we took cabs to the downtown, which was a beautiful, picturesque little town right on the ocean. We took a tour of the ocean on a boat, and stopped at several different beaches along the coast to swim in the cool, refreshing water. After the tour, we shopped around and got pizza.

We stayed a week there in Buzios, and then took a van back to Rio, where we stayed another 4 days in a hotel on Copacabana Beach. We took two different tours, and got to go to the top of Sugarloaf rock, where we could see all of Rio. I also saw Christ the Redeemer, which is one of the seven wonders of the world.

When we came back to Chile, we stayed with my host grandparents in Santiago for a few days because some of my siblings had dentist appointments. I went shopping a little and saw Eclipse, which was in English with Spanish subtitles (awesome). We drove to Vinia del Mar for a funeral before heading back to good ol Parral. I can honestly say I missed Parral, and my house and my room and my bed! But being back meant one horrible thing: I only had two weeks until I had to leave Chile.

Since my school was still on vacation, I had that time to spend with with close friends and my amazing family. About two days before I left, my friends had a surprise going-away party for me. I was so happy to be able to see all of them one last time. It was one of the hardest nights of my experience, because i had to say goodbye to the friends that i had lived around and loved for 5 months, but it was also one of the best nights because i had so much fun with my Chilean friends. That was the night that it kind of hit me that I was leaving, and that I really didn't want to leave.

I packed the day before I left and it was really difficult for two reasons: 1. I had acquired way too much stuff over the past 5 months and certainly didn't have room for all of it (I had to buy another suitcase), and 2. I didn't want to pack up my stuff and leave.

I woke up early on August 29th, packed my bags into the car, said goodbye to my two oldest sisters, my cousin, and her boyfriend, and left my Chilean house. After driving the 4 hours to Santiago, my parents, my 12 year old sister Paula, the twins Mane and Raul, and I ate at a Pizzeria before taking me to the airport. I savored those last few hours with my family, and cried with my little sisters, and when the time came that i had to walk through the customs gate and leave them all behind, I lost it. I couldn't control the sobbing and fear and sadness that i felt. It was the hardest day of my AFS experience.

I met up with 9 other exchange students from the US that i had met at the beginning of the exchange and had kept in touch with over the 5 months. It was good to be able to catch up with all of them, because we had all grown really close during our experiences. As the plane lifted off and flew away, I cried because I was leaving the country and the life that i had worked so hard to get to, and even though i knew i had to leave, I was really sad, and knew that i would miss it so much.

We got into Miami, Florida at 5am on the 30th. I said goodbye to my exchange friends at the luggage claim, because i had to catch my 6:30 flight to Sacramento. Everything went smoothly and i got to Sac at 11am. As i waited for my bags at the luggage claim, two giant boys came up behind me and hugged me. At first, I thought i was being mugged or something, but quickly saw the smiling faces of my two younger brothers, who had grown about 4 feet since i saw them last. Then i saw my dad and, my grandma, and my uncle. I hugged my dad for the longest time, because i had missed him so much. then i saw my mom, who was of course apart from the crowd trying to find me before anyone else did. Then i went to hug my uncle, who stepped aside to reveal my best friend, Candice. I was sooo soso happy to see her!!! AHHHH. After hugging everyone and gathering up all my stuff, we went to Rubios for fish tacos. When i got home, I collapsed on the couch and watched a movie with the family. Like good ol times.

I've been back in the US for a little over a week now, and i'm happy to see everyone i missed. I start my senior year of high school in a week, and my family is getting an exchange student from Austria this Saturday. She's 16 and will be sharing a room with me. I'm excited for the change and for school to start so that I will be busy. I miss Chile more than I ever imagined I would, and i'm hoping to go back in February. I am constantly thinking about being there and know that there is not possible way i could NOT go back, so i've got to make it happen. I've also got college applications coming up and all the tests that go with that so wish me luck.

And finally, thank you all for reading and keeping up with my Chilean Adventure and for your support throughout everything. I made my dream come true, and I feel that since i made this happen, I can make anything happen.

A Visit to the South

I went to Pucon, Chile for three days last week with my host mom. She had to go to a conference there, so she invited me along so i was able to see some of the south of Chile!

My mom left really early Tuesday morning, and I went with four other people that work with my mom in a tiny little truck for the five hour car ride...we left around 11am, stopped for a lunch break, and got to the hotel at like 4:30 in the afternoon. It was misting a little bit, and pretty cold. Pucon is in the lake region of Chile, and our hotel was conveniently placed right at the end of one. My hotel room looked out onto the beautiful lake and mountains. It is the most beautiful place i've ever been. My mom was in conferences the whole time, so I walked around and explored the little town. Most shops were closed because it's winter here, and it's a summer attraction with the lake and whatnot, but I still loved it. I also occupied myself by watching TV shows in Spanish :D

We returned home at midnight Thursday night, and I had to go to school the next day gahh.

Everything is just really normal, but i'm realizing that I only have 7 weeks left here, so I want to make it as not normal as possible. Like doing things i've never done before! Experiencing life! This adventure has been so amazing, and i'm so thankful that I have this opportunity.

Muuchas gracias for reading everyone

xoxo
Stephanie

P.S.-As my Spanish continues to improve, my English seems to be getting worse...:/

I'm Blonde??

This is the class Gira. I am about in the middle with the blue dress, American flag, and blonde hair! I am also a lot taller than most people…

If you know me, you know that I am not even close to having blonde hair-I am a fairly dark brunette. When i came to Chile, knowing that the majority of Chileans have dark hair, I thought, “Hey , this will be kind of nice-I’ll initially be able to blend in as a Chilean easier because I already have the right hair color.” Well it turns out I’m not the brunette I thought I was…

The other day in my Language class, the Profe was talking about unfair generalizations. As as example she said, “An unfair generalization is something like, ‘Blondes are dumb.’” Then she said, “No offense Stephanie.” Huh? Why was she directing that at me? Did I just misunderstand what she said? Or did she just suggest that I was blonde? Then later that day, a couple of my classmates and I were in the bathroom brushing our teeth after lunch, and one girl said, “Stephanie your hair is so beautiful! I wish I had blonde hair.” My hair? Are you

talking to me? Still completely confused, the next morning at breakfast, my little brother was wearing a bright blonde Hannah Montana wig he borrowed from his friend-who knows why? My sister asked him why he was wearing a blonde wig, and he replied, “Because I want to have hair like Stephanie’s!” ALRIGHT THAT’S IT. Why does everyone keep saying I have blonde hair?! “Uh, because you ARE blonde,” said my sister. “You’re not as blonde as the wig, but compared to the average Chilean hair color, your hair is really blonde.”

Three days ago, my friend Rocio made the class “Gira,” which is a cartoon of everyone in the class. She drew everyone with brown hair—except me! I have blonde hair, and am proudly holding my American flag.

Fun Fact: I was talking about coffee with some friends the other day at lunch and I said I didn’t like coffee, but I liked the occasional frappuccino at Starbucks. And they didn’t know what Starbucks was! I thought Starbucks was a universal thing, but I guess it isn’t! I was very surprised, just because there are sosososossooooo many in the US. There is also no Jamba Juice:(

Thanks for reading!!

xoxo

Stephanie

Everything is So...Amazingly Normal

I've been in school for three weeks now, and although the novelty certainly hasn't worn off, I think that I am very close to being "completely adapted" to this Chilean life.

The past few weeks of school have been so great. I have 13 subjects that are covered throughout the week, most of which are repeated. For example, I have math almost everyday, but I only have P.E. once a week. The classes that I have to take and that every student in my grade takes are: Math, Language and Communication, Philosophy, Physical Education, English, History, Biology, Physics, Chemistry, Art or Music (Art for me), Biology or Language Elective (Biology), Physics or Chemistry Elective (Chemistry), and Math or History Elective (Math). I have a schedule that I keep with me at all times because every day is a different schedule, and it's impossible to remember what classes I have what days. As you can imagine, my favorite class is English. Mainly because I can understand EVERYTHING that is going on in that class, but also because I am able to help teach people my language. The English teacher often asks me to explain what words mean, or give synonyms so that my classmates can better understand. One day I read a paragraph aloud out of our text book, and when I finished, everyone burst out laughing! They didn't understand any of what I had said, even though I was just reading at a normal speed for me, but I'm sure it sounded to them like their Spanish did to me at first! To put it simply, English class is entertaining. As far as friends goes, I think I would consider pretty much everyone in my class my friend. The class that I am in consists of 32 students, including me, and makes up the entire 3rd medio, which is 11th grade. Even though these kids have been going to school together since they were in preschool, and are like a family, they have been so welcoming towards me, and have made me feel so happy and apart of their big family. I will be forever grateful to the students in my class for helping me to have such a great school experience.

Like I said before, the novelty still hasn't worn off, so here are some of the things about myself that I have found to be the most different from the norm here: My height. Chileans are generally a short people. There are of course exceptions, but I happen to be a very tall exception. I usually have to bend down to see myself in mirrors. Next, my eyes. It's like they crave eyes any other color than brown! They say my eyes are "preciosos!" and scarcely find a moment when someone isn't starting at them. Usually kind of awkward... I have had a few offers from people wanting to buy my eyes. Also my hair. Even though it is brunette, it's not the SAME dark Chilean color, so I've gotten a few offers for that too. Lastly, MY NAME!! Stephanie doesn't come out too bad for most people, as Estefany is a name that is used here. However, they completely slaughter Hedger. I haven't found a single person yet who can correctly pronounce my last name. But that's ok.

The other day, my friend Javiera told me that her cousin is in her last year of college studying to become and English teacher, and wanted to know if I would come over to her house to just speak English with her so she could practice. I of course said I would, so I went with Javiera after school this past Tuesday to her cousin's house. It was just a few blocks from school, so we walked. On the way, I saw a friend I had met in the plaza when I had first got to Parral, and he doesn't go to our school, so Javiera didn't know him. I felt so cool to have known someone and been able to talk to him as we strolled down the street. It made me feel Chilean. Once I met Carla, Javiera's cousin, we sat and talked about school, exchange students, public school versus private school, public and private in the US versus public and private in Chile, parties, friends, etc. Her English was very good-she made very few mistakes. She told me that she has a couple of friends that are in her class that are studying English in the US right now. I asked what state and she said California. Oh wow! That's cool I live in California. Then I asked if she knew what university they were studying at. Maybe I would know it? Oh yes, she said it was something Davis. Oh my gosh!! UC Davis! That's like two hours from where I live and happens to be the exact college that I want to go to! Small world.

School pictures are a lot different here. Instead of having a photographer come to school, we go to the photographer. But it's not really even a photographer...My siblings and I went to the Kodak Center after school the other day to get our pictures taken, which the school needs for the "yearbook" and we also have to put one in our agenda book. Well the Kodak Center is a gift shop, and there's a lady in a little back room that takes pictures with a Kodak camera and prints them out for you right there. So we all had a little picture taken with our adorable uniforms on, and then the lady added our name so it represented a mug shot, printed them out to about 1.5 inches by 2 inches, and handed us each our little packet. It was two dollars for 8 little pictures.

My family here goes on vacation to another country every winter, and this year I get to go with them! My parents haven't decided where we are going yet, but it's between Brazil, Mexico, Costa Rica, and the Dominican Republic. They've already been to Mexico and Brazil in past years, but I think it will be awesome wherever we end up going! We have the two weeks before I leave Chile as winter vacation off from school, but my family takes off the week before that as well to go on vacation. I believe we're going for two weeks. That means when we get back, I'll have one week before I leave for the US! Also, my host sister, who is in the US on exchange right now, will be back for our winter vacation, so I'm excited to meet her and spend time with her, since were the same age.

I only have 13 weeks of Chile left!! I feel that I have acclimated pretty fast considering the disruptive earthquake there at the beginning, and I know that I am going to get everything and more out of what I hoped to get from being on exchange. I've learned to never turn away an opportunity, even if it's just going to the grocery store with my host mom, or watch Disney Channel with my little brother. All of it leads to something huge, and It's going to be something I remember forever, and that is currently changing me as a person.

Well tomorrow is my 17th birthday, and I will be celebrating it Chilean style! It's my host family's tradition to wake up at 6am and sing the birthday person Happy Birthday (the Spanish version of course) to wake them up, and then lay all their gifts on top of them. Then gifts are opened, we eat breakfast, and the rest of the day I'm not sure about! So I'm planning on going to bed quite early tonight as I will be waken up before the sun comes up...I'm having a birthday party next weekend with all the people in my grade, so I'm excited for that. I'm not really sure how birthday parties are with friends here in Chile, but we'll see how it goes!

Thanks for reading!

xoxo

Steph

First Day of School!

Two important events since my last update!!

First important thing: I had an AFS orientation in Santiago this past Wednesday, April 7-Friday, April 9. It was just a check up for most people, to see how everyone is with their families, how the language is coming, how school is, etc. It was really great to see all the people I had met from the camp in Rancagua. We all have sort of a special bond I guess since we endured the earthquake together. It was awesome to see how everyone is doing with their host families, schools, and how the language is coming. One other girl and I were the only ones who hadn't started school yet, which leads me into my next topic...

I had my first day of school today! I wasn't as nervous as I thought I would be, but I think that's because I already knew a lot of people in my grade. There are exactly 31 people in my grade. There are around 300 in my school, which is Pre-School through High School. Super chico! Everyone is very friendly. Everyone also slaughters my name. It's quite comical. As I walk through the school yard, I hear little kids tell their moms, "Look Mom! It's Stephanie! The girl from the United States!" I don't even know who any of these kids are...People say hi to me that i've never seen before! Something I don't get in the US. I like it! When I say i'm from California, they think it's the coolest thing since sliced bread.

I have classed until 6pm everyday except Monday, on which I have classes until 4pm. Ridiculously late, I know. When I got home today, I watched Flight Plan in Spanish. I was completely whooped. Too bad today was the short day...

I'll try to be more frequent with my updates. Thanks for reading!!

Steph

Finally a Part of a Chilean Family

Santiago turned out to be a really great time. Valentina, Nina, and I spent many days shopping downtown-can't exactly complain. I fell in love with Chilean bread.

The picture on the left is the group of kids who were the last to go to their host families due to damage from the earthquake. Two AFS volunteers took us on a tour of Santiago on the last day I was there. You can see more pictures of that on my Facebook. The picture posted here is of the view of Santiago from the top of this big hill. We took an escalator type thing up to the top, where there was a giant statue of the Virgin Mary, and I could ALL of Santiago and the Andes Mountains. It was an amazing sight.

I was able to go to my host family in Parral on Wednesday the 10th. Two students from Thailand and I took a bus North, along with two AFS volunteers. We were all dropped off in different places. I happened to be dropped off on the side of the road where my host parents were waiting for me...? We first went to my mother's work-she owns a company that exports blueberries. Then I got to go to my new home! I met my 4 siblings-Kippy (14), Paula (11), and the twins Magdalena and Raul (10). I was really homesick the first night because I was finally in a family, and it wasn't the family I'm used to. It's gotten better each day, and i'm starting to feel like a part of a Chilean family now. My mother, Kippy, and I have gone out a couple times to do some shopping, and otherwise we hang out at home with the housekeepers/nanny while both my parents work.

School was supposed to start on March 3rd, but because of the damage, it's not starting until April 5th. Kinda good, kinda bad. I'll have more time to get better at Spanish before school starts, but going to school will keep me occupied and that's where I'm going to meet friends. I'm excited but nervous too! My Spanish is much worse than I thought...I've accepted the fact that I'm not going to know what's going on most of the time. It gets better everyday though, and my family is very helpful and supportive.

I'll try to keep everyone posted. Thanks for reading!

Chao

Steph

Camp/Santiago pics

USA group