Words cannot express my excitement, but if you know me at all, you know that I am super buena para comer chocolate - basically, I am a chocolate fanatic. Not to mention, I've heard amazing things about Bariloche and I'm excited to see PATAGONIA and experience a bit of Argentinian culture. Supposedly Argentinian Spanish is a lot easier to understand, so I'm curious to hear that and to hear their accents as well.
Speaking of Spanish, I am learning it! It's a slow process, and there are definitely moments/days where I feel incredibly discouraged that I'm not fluent after two months. But then I realize, "That is ridiculous! Who becomes fluent in a language after two months? Nobody!" And I also have total epiphany moments every once and awhile (more and more often!) where I feel really competent in this language. For instance, when I first arrived in Valdivia I was listening to the radio with my family and I remember being terrified because I couldn't understand ANYTHING they were saying. Chileans speak very rapidly already, but radio personalities speak even faster and it was extremely daunting. A couple weeks ago, I was listening to the radio during breakfast (my family listens to the radio during every mealtime) and I realized I could understand everything they were saying, save the occasional random vocab word! IT WAS SO COOL.
Still makin' grammar mistakes pretty often (and still confused daily by subjunctive) but it's nice to understand what is going on around me and be able to converse with other Chileans.
Not much else to report on. I've been going to school, chatting with my host family, celebrating some birthdays, and learning a LOT. Oh, and eating tons of delicious food all the time. Last week was my host mom's birthday and we had kuchen, a German cake-tart-type dessert that's all over Valdivia (thanks again, German colonists!) for days.
As much as I love the Spring in Valdivia, I am a little homesick for the fall, pumpkin baked goods, and US Halloween celebrations. I've also been missing feminist activism a bunch. I keep meaning to write a post on feminism in Chile, but have yet to sit down and do it. One of these days! For now, here are some more cute pictures of me that have surfaced on Facebook recently:
me with a horse statue in Parque Saval, taken by Anna. Not sure what inspired this face.
Me, Danielle, and Jahni, exploring Valparaiso. I like this picture because I look like I'm pulling out my tour guide moves. (Sidenote: I miss my job!!) Taken by Jac.
Me at La Campana (where Charles Darwin hiked!) Taken by... Jeff or Jahni, I can't remember.
Jeff and I in Pucón, with a SWEET volcano house. Taken by Jahni.
A bunch of us in my history class, with Profesor Molina, exploring La Isla de Mancera. Taken by Jeff.Gotta go finish packing and try to teach myself to roll my r's! Wish me luck!
No comments:
Post a Comment