My, how time flies!

Hey all!

Sorry about the time between the last post and this one. I normally write on weekends but the last two have been full to say the least. Add to that the fact that I've finally gotten tummy sick and you have a huge chunk of time between posts. :( Anyway, enough moaning, let's start where we left off! :D
After my birthday, not too much happened. There was a Cueca (the Chilean national dance) competition, which was really fun to watch. Other than that, I went to my classes, helped out, and tutored the family that I'm working with. :)
Two weekends ago (the last week in August), our CIEE family (plus Mildred, Tess, Amanda, and Katie) all met up in Valparaíso. It honestly was like our family was meeting again; despite the fact that it had been almost a month since we had seen each other, it didn't feel like anything had changed. :) After Bonnie and I hiked up an absurd amount of stairs (after getting dropped in the most random place imaginable), we met everyone who decided that we needed to go and eat. After another odd, late-night hike, we ended up at a rather expensive place about five minutes from the hostel. That night, we decided that we were going to cook for ourselves from now on. Best. Idea. Ever. :D
The next day, we went wandering around Valpo and eventually ended up at one of Pablo Neruda's old houses. I took an absurd amount of pictures (over 100), very few of which were of people. By the time we reached the bottom of the hills (sort of where we were staying), almost everyone was tired, cranky, and extremely hungry. We all went to the super (BAD IDEA) and almost ended up with a dinner!fail. Despite the crankiness floating in the air, we all made it out alive and returned to the hostel to cook.
I'm not sure if the food was really that good or if it was like the first meal you have when you're camping; either way, it rocked hardcore. Everyone was more than pleased (which could've had something to do with the copious amounts of wine being drunk). :D After eating, we all went back up to the bigger room to hang out. We were entertained by the fabulous Victoria, whose penchant for storytelling will make her extremely famous and/or very, very rich. :) At about 1230, everyone but Bonnie and I decided to go out to a place called Huevo. From the stories that we heard the next day, it was an interesting night to say the least. :)
The next week at school was more of the same. I find myself getting a little annoyed with one teacher simply because I'm not being allowed to teach AT ALL. I have to continually remind myself that I'm here to help, not to do her job for her. :) During this week, Bonnie and I found out that we had to go to Santiago on Saturday (just on Saturday) for a meeting with the CIEE organization folk. Originally, I wasn't going to go because it would be a waste of time (try 10 hours on a bus) and money. My parents, however, thought otherwise. My mom has been wanting to get out of Salamanca for awhile and decided that the weekend would be a perfect time to do it. On Friday, then, Bonnie and I found ourselves in the back of the Jeep on the way to a high-rise freaking apartment in Viña del Mar (Valpo's super rich cousin). We stayed there that night and caught a bus to Santiago (a much more manageable 1.75 hour bus ride) the next day.
Once in Santiago, we learned the Cueca (!), went to lunch (yummo) and had our "meeting". During this "meeting," I found out that not only am I, like, the luckiest girl on the planet, but also that my dad's family pretty much owns Chile (according to Claudia). I'm not quite sure if their copious amounts of money doesn't effect me because I don't see them as super snotty or if it's something that's so outside my comfort zone that it just isn't real. I'm pretty sure it's a combination of the two but if they're mutually exclusive, I'll side with the former. :) That night, our dinner reservations got canceled (or something equally weird), so we were left to fend for ourselves. We made breakfast for dinner (complete with pancakes with Wal-Mart brand syrup!) and, once again, had a fabulous time. The next day, after a morning!fail, Bonnie and I headed back to Viña where we were escorted around the biggest mall I've ever been to in my life. Ho. Ly. Cow. Bonnie wasn't phased but I didn't know what to do with myself. At about 430 we headed home; once here, we went to Grandma and Grandpa's for onces and then, finally, we got home home. :)
Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday I didn't have classes with one of my teachers because she got sick. Monday, my stomach started to feel funky. Tuesday, it got worse. Wednesday, I came home for lunch and didn't wake up until almost seven. Here I am today, not any better and being forced to stay at home. Oh, and fending off everyone who thinks I need to go to the hospital. Ugh. Talk about feeling lazy as crap as well as a burden. Despite all of this, I still feel like I'm the luckiest girl alive. The fact that none of my family nor my main teacher won't leave me alone (they're trying to do everything for me) reminds me how great these folks are. :)
Alright, alright, I can see you retching from the amount of sweet that's in this so I'll shut up. I'll try to update sooner (probably next week sometime?) but, until then--
LOVES!
Cb.