Familia, Comida, SOUR CREAM APPLE PIE!

Yesterday Al, Naty, and I made some homey USA food for Cecilia, Ines & Ramon (Al's host parents), and Pancho (Naty's boyfriend). Al and Naty had a lot of fun the night before and as a consequence lunch got pushed back and a little stressful. Allison was running around the kitchen like a maniac while Naty danced up a storm to Adele, and somehow it all got done and was a huge success. Allison's mac&cheese tasted like home, Naty's peas & mushrooms managed to make the meal at least seem healthier, and we even had a Caesar Salad (which is, in fact, American. I looked it up!). I also made my personal Camp Broadstone favorite, Sour Cream Apple Pie. Cecilia loved it so much, that since we had an extra pie crust, she made me write out the recipe in Spanish and she gave it a try today to serve at onces! It was super rico, as always. It was nice to cook something for a change, and now that Ceec isn't terrified of me using her kitchen I think I'll cook more frequently. Next on the menu: American pancakes with real maple syrup (Cecilia has a bottle of it as a gift from a previous student).

Right now the whole family (well, minus Matias' family that lives in Peru) is over having a great time. Eugenio's daughters are brushing his hair (he doesn't seem very happy about it, but is being patient), Gabriela and I have been quizzing Cristobal for his anatomy test on bones and muscles in English (it's a little difficult to get him to say muscles without pronouncing the 'c'), and Cecilia is picking on her youngest son, Tomas, like always. It's nice to have them over here because it's a rarity and Cecilia is always so happy around her sons and grandchildren.

I have a cold, AGAIN. I also have more stress over school than I should. But overall, I can't help but be content. I have amazing friends here and a loving host mom. Everything here is perfect, and at the same time I'll be ready to get back to my other amazing friends and family in less than 2 months. All my experiences here have confirmed that I'm doing things right in my life. I love Spanish, I adore teaching high schoolers, and I pride myself on how open minded I have been to all these new encounters.

All I can say, really, is that I'm fooping. I'll have to explain that one later.

I don't have to work because of a few mice?

Well, I arrived to work today to find the school surrounded by police and news stations' vans. Turns out that the students and parents are protesting because some students claim to have seen mice in the school (not sure if it's true or not...) and now they are saying the school is "unclean." They're running around outside the school with whiskers painted on their faces. Technically classes are still going on but the school is practically empty, and the exasperated English teachers said I could go home and hopefully things will be back to normal on Wednesday.

When I got home and explained to Cecilia, she wasn't surprised. Protests like this are very common in Chilean schools. In Chile in general, I suppose. I think it's great that the kids are allowed to protest...but in this particular instance I think it's ridiculous and it's really a shame that they are depriving themselves of their education for a free day (well 2 so far, the protest started on Friday) to complain about some mice that may or may not exist. If only they could see the size of the rats at American, they would be picketing in the streets there too...

Rapa Nui/Isla de Pascua/Easter Island

On Friday, after a 5 hour plane ride from Santiago, I arrived at one of the most remote islands in the world, Rapa Nui. I had read about the rich history and myths, and was excited to see the moai (bigheads-pictured below) and learn more about the theories of where the indigenous groups came from and how they made and transported the amazing works of stone. In this excitement, it didn’t strike me until we got there that I was on a tropical island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean!!!!! For lack of a better description, I felt like I was in LOST.

The island was peaceful and perfect. I had a lot of alone time and a lot of friend time, the perfect mix. On Saturday we went to the most beautiful beach and I was in so much awe I forgot to put sunscreen on my back! I don’t think I’ll bore you all in this blog about everything I enjoyed and learned on the island—so let’s just talk if you want to know more. For now, here are a few pictures: