Mall Fun

Yesterday I went to the mall with some of my friends and my host sister. (It was a different group than the ones I went to Pizza Hut with.) I had so much fun, and I'm super glad that I went! Sometimes it's hard to ask for permission, but it's always worth the struggle. 

At the mall I ate my 2nd completo at a chain called "Doggies". The mall only has chains, and it's where you can find all the norteamericano food. So, completos that are called hotdogs was the closest I could come to Chilean food. Wasn't much of a hardship. They're delicious! 

The mall also has a bowling alley, a movie theatre, a supermarket, and an arcade with rides. The rides are kind-a for little kids, but they are super fun anyway!  

In the supermarket we were on a mission to buy the 4 things on my list. 1) chocolate, 2) peanut butter, 3) straws (for a school thing), & 4) tea. It was quite funny looking for that random assortment of things, but we found them all. 

Sometimes I am really sad, and miss everything and everyone back in the US, but I think my overall happiness outweighs the sad parts by a lot. I have never been so happy, so frequently before in my life. Sure when I'm on vacation I'm this happy, or when something special is going on, but here I get that happy over normal every-day life. It's kind-a awesome.

3 Random Things About Chile

1. The staple food of Chile is not rice as commonly believed. It's bread. The one that we eat everyday is my favorite. It's called hallulla. There's nothing comparable in the US, and it's super "rica" (delicious)! Especially fresh from the Pandería after a long day at school. yummm. I'm anticipating missing it already, and I still have a year to enjoy it. We frequently eat it as a sandwich with ham and cheese. Also with "manjar", which is like carmel, but milky-er and Chilean. Oh. Also with this savoury meat/pork paste that has red pepper pieces in it. I have no idea what it's called, or what it actually is. I'm not sure that I want to know. Anyway, I'm going to have to take both hallulla and manjar back to the US with me. As well as learn how to make them.

hallulla with ham and cheese. My after-school snack.

Hallulla

¡Oh Manjar!

2) Luckily I don't like coffee, and/or I'm not a coffee snob, but they only drink Nescafé Instant coffee here. I could care less, but be warned. 

3) I think they send the Spanish new-bees here because: a) everyone is really nice and willing to help me learn Spanish. b) they use A LOT of hand motions. Like even when they talk to each other, and not just to me. It's probably one of the only reasons I can understand anything they say. And it's really helpful.

1 Weekend- 347 Photos

Just check'n in from over here in the Southern Hemisphere! This weekend we went to Santiago to take Leo to the airport. We left on Thursday after school, and after a great weekend got back at 11pm last night.

Our first stop was the police office in Las Angeles (where my dad works as a carabinero). It was here that I had my first Completo, as well as an adorable Chilean coke in a glass bottle. Below is a picture of a completo. It's a chilean hotdog. And way better than a US hotdog, as I told them. On this journey, I also ate my first chilean empanada (for lunch at the beach house) and it was pretty darn good. 

Ok, fast forward. On Friday evening, we took Leo to the airport in Santiago. After saying goodbye, we were standing there watching him go through security, and I realised: A) just how much I was going to miss this great guy that I had only known for two weeks, B) how much I wish I could have got to spend more time with him, and C) how my family must have felt, ten fold, when I left. And I cried. Not a lot. It was actually the first time that I've cried since I left. Which is kinda weird...

So... I was standing there trying not to explode, when we see a bunch of dudes with arm tattoos and giant speakers. Mi mama dice, "Es una banda". Dijo, "Mhmm." Camila dice "Sleeping with Sirens??" Dijo "oh my gosh!!" and we run and I end up takeing a picture with Nick Martin, the Rhythm Guitarist from "Sleeping With Sirens". It's pretty weird and goes to prove that 95% of the time, I have absolutely no clue as to what is going to happen the next minute of my exchange.

After that, we drove to Lali's (my grandma's) beach house. Saturday was nothing but amazing and relaxing. The beach was sooo wonderful. The water was beautiful, the sand was great, the views were amazing, the sun was warm, and it smelled so refreshing! Ahhh. 

Our beach house. Not where we stayed.

Disclaimer: He was half joking, but my host dad said to make sure that everyone understood that this is Chilean beach. So, there you go.

When we got back to the beach house, I took like a 5 hour long nap. So, yeah.

Here's some other pictures from the drive back on Sunday. So pretty!