Life is good

Hi everyone!
Still on strike here, but I am really beginning to appreciate the relaxed lifestyle... just in time for the start of a college semester in the U.S. :) Even my sports class has stopped.  It would be a great time for a job or travel, but my visa does not allow for work and the exchange students are not supposed to travel in case classes start up again.  I did as many essays (a total of two) as I could in advance, but it is difficult to work ahead because syllabi do not exactly exist.  I also managed to give a few English lessons to a high school student and earned a little bit of money for that, but other than that life is tough.  I sleep-in, run, eat, spend time with friends, actually keep up on the news, go on walks, read, etc.  Please do not feel too sorry for me.  

I have less than a month left in Antofagasta!  I will be flying down to Santiago on the 23rd of July. I will have a few days of solo exploration, and on the 27th one of my best friends is flying to Santiago (waiting for this is harder than waiting for Christmas!).  We will be traveling to the gorgeous part of Chile, the lakes district.  I will officially head home on the 4th of August.  I am hoping that the travel home goes smoother than getting here, but if not, I am an experienced airport sleeper.  I must say that I am very excited to be home!

Highlights of this past week:

Tea at the beach with friends:

Family Barbecue On Saturday: 

Jorge, the BBQ master with his UW apron

So much good food!

My host mom, host cousin, and me

Photo with my host uncle

Jorge and Veronica (I don't know where the pirate hat came from, but Veronica enjoyed wearing it during the photos)

A photo with my host parents

The grandmas (the two on the left) and an aunt 

The DELICIOUS dessert!

Fran (my host brother) with Veronica

Youth Group BBQ at Ale's house:

Playing Uno

Catherine (Ale's sister) could be considered my host sister because I spend so much time at their house.

The Chilean Choripán: Mini sausage hot dogs that are very common at Chilean BBQs

Ale's mom, Bron

Ale's dad, Bruce (pastor of the church)

The whole crew

Strike

My relaxed life is now even more relaxed.  The strike officially began June 8th and there is no estimate as to when classes will resume.  My sports class is my only class that is continuing because we do not have to be at the university for the class (students block the entrance all day and all night so that classes cannot take place).  We have it at the sports fields across the street from my house because our swimming unit is complete.  This means that I have two classes a week.  I emailed the director of the exchange program at UW and she said I may have to finish off my classes with UW professors.  This makes me slightly nervous, because I hate to say it, but we haven't exactly done a whole lot of learning in any of my classes.  A total of one test, one presentation, and two essays is basically all that I have done throughout this entire semester, and I guarantee that I will have approximately 10 times this much work if I finish the four weeks I am missing with UW professors.  It is going to be a harsh adjustment coming back to college... My nightly average of nine hours of sleep each night is going to rapidly decline.  I am doing my best to do all of the work that I can in order to get final grades here rather than when I get back :)

Due to the strike, our anniversary lunch did not take place, so the no-bake cookies and peanut butter & jelly sandwiches did not represent the food of the U.S.A.

I have been spending a lot of time with Ale and her family... lots of baking :)  I also went to Lulu's house in Calama for the weekend.  It is about a three hour bus ride north of Antofagasta.  It was a very nice weekend and fun to meet all of my Chilean relatives!

Baking/decorating cupcakes for the church bazaar with Ale and her family

A winter beach day

We made waffles without a waffle iron.  They were more like pancakes, but still delicious!

Getting a tour of the park in Calama

A view of the park

Volcanoes in the distance

 

Lulu and I

With my Chilean cousins at the family barbecue we had on Saturday

Salud = Cheers!

My little cousin :)

The whole crew

Lulu, her dad, and her brother

We had another barbecue on Father's Day

        

Pictures of daily life abroad

We had an exchange student gathering to confirm plans for the anniversary lunch that we will be serving this Wednesday (Molly and I decided to go with the no-bake cookies and peanut butter & jelly sandwiches.  I feel guilty that we are not doing a better job representing food of the U.S.A. If the oven had temperature settings, I had some form of a crock pot to keep the food warm while serving it for 2 1/2 hours, and I could find necessary ingredients at the supermarkets here, we might have gone for something more challenging.)  

Completos (hot dogs) are at all social gatherings.  I am not a hot dog lover, but here it is custom to eat them with mashed up avocado and diced tomatoes, and this part I love! 

The students went on strike last Wednesday because tuition is too high.  It is possible that we will go into an indefinite strike, which means that the semester would be prolonged.  I am keeping my fingers crossed that this does not happen!  We only have one month left of classes, so I am hoping that the students just hold off until next semester.

They had a march to the city center.

Brunch with Molly and some people she met from Turkey who are working at an observatory for the year.

A night of cards with my best Chilean friend, Ale, and her sister, Catherine.  They are the ones originally from Australia, so they speak English too :)

Helping my host mom prepare this incredibly delicious peach tart.

Yum!