The month started with my weekend with Rotary. It was a perfect weekend seeing all of the other exchange students again. It was also perfect because most of us made plans to visit each other within the month and plans to get together and visit the other towns where people are living for the year. A week or two after my Rotary weekend I met up with three other exchange students and we had a "mini reunion" together here in Chillan at another exchange students house. It was really fun. We cooked Danish lasagna together, it was pretty delicious too. Later that night we made pancakes, but with beer. This is how the two exchange students from Denmark make pancakes. You don't really taste the beer that much, but it gives them a really good flavor. Something new! It was a great weekend, filled with story telling, laughs and overall just a good time. It's really nice to be able to get together with the other exchange students because they are going through the exact same things as you are, the ups and downs and the completely understand how you feel. They are literally my other family here, so I am grateful for such a great group of us!
This month our school had "Teachers Day" or something similar, but we ended up getting an afternoon off from school one day. Most of my class went to another classmates house where we made homemade pizzas because the classmate has a pizza oven in his backyard. It was fun and delicious. I really love being with my classmates. They are all so welcoming and so funny. Like the other exchange students, my classmates are my other family as well. I feel very close and comfortable with all of them so I am very grateful for them as well. It was a great afternoon!
Last week my older host brother took me to Concepcion to visit his mom and his family. It is very different compared to Chillan where I live. We met up with one of my brothers friends that I had met at our country house. Then we went to the naval base where we went onto a boat. I am assuming that it was a replica, I have no idea though! But the little bit of history that I understood was that it was used during a fight/war between Chile and Peru. And Chile won! That's about all I know! But it was cool nevertheless. After that we went back to my brothers house where I saw his sisters, that I had met before as well. It was great to see them! Then the highlight of my day was the mall we went to in Concepcion. It had a Gap, which is a classic store, and one of my favorites. The mall in Chillan is very, very tiny with few stores. So I was very excited to see a Gap. It felt great to do some shopping! I will be going back again sometime soon! But it was a great day spent and it was really nice to do something with my brother because he is leaving soon for the United States!
Last, but not least the "Gala". Basically it is the junior/senior prom in the United States. It was held in the center of town in the plaza! It was so fun, getting all dressed up and wearing fancy dresses etc! We had "cocktails" before, then we had a sit down dinner and then the best part, dancing! It is pretty embarrassing to dance with these Chileans, because they are all basically born to dance and I have no rhythm and no dancing skills whatsoever. My friends get a kick out of my dancing, but it is still lots of fun! That lasted until 3am, so fun though.
Overall a great month, that went by extremely fast! Below are some pictures from the month; Pizza, Rotary reunion, my day in Concepcion with my brother, and the Gala!
