In my mind I pick weird times to blog.... but maybe that is because blogging is (and probably always be) a weird thing for me. It takes time, I don't regret doing it after the fact but I have to tell myself "it'll be worth it to write all this down" a lot, before the words actually flow. The fact that my friend Madie is the blog queen also puts a fire under by butt to at least write something. Sometime I wish I could just cop out and just paste from hers.... cause she has already done the work to write a lot of what I'm doing down.... but i wouldn't because it means more coming from me. I'll just be up a little early finishing up homework and i'll probably have to take a nap tomorrow. I don't worry too much about it because somehow I know I'll get stuff done just like I have for the last 20 (ALMOST 21!) years.
So I left off talking about how wonderful last weekend was. I seriously live for the weekends here. They are too epic, different, love filled, too really describe justly. That's the problem with blogging I suppose, I just can't fully make you grasp my life here because it is so much more than even I understand. I post a lot of pictures on FB and update my status but to dig deeper takes so much time. I logged off last monday coming down from another great weekend only to get hit with a unexpected low. Don't know what it is I ate, perhaps the sea food I ate with my host family on sunday, but whatever it was it decided late that night, right as I was about to crash, that it would rock me. No one wants details of nights spent in bathrooms but honestly I can't remember the last time I was that sick. My back is till tight from not being able to remove myself from the cold bathroom floor. But it is in these moments when you feel sick, cold, lonely, and like you will never be able to eat again, that other people start to shine in your like and humility grows. Imagine my frustration when I can't communicate how I'm actually feeling with my host parents (Hand motion vomiting is pretty universal tho) and my host madre gives me that look that makes me feel like a complete idiot. Or how I can talk to the people I miss the most on FB while camped out on the bathroom floor but that doesn't get me a hug from any of them. If you haven't realized this yet I'm a pathetic sick person, but I suppose most of us are. It's hard not to let other sides slip when the physical side is crumbling. Luckily, by morning the worst had past and I started to keep down some water, my host madre came in and out all day as I lay in bed exhausted, dehydrated, and incredibly humbled by her kindness. Never has watery rice and saltines been so good. By the time tuesday night rolled around I was stir crazy from being in my room all day and anxious to get back to my week. And man did I have a week ahead. With a paper, a composition, and a final exam I was stressed, weak, and wanting to feel ok again PRONTO. Wed. was supposed to be my day back to normalcy but funny when you think that things go kinda weird on ya. Somehow my alarm clock stopped, was wrong, I don't know.... but I got up an hour or so late. My host mom then wouldn't let me leave the house with a wet head and I strolled into class tired, late, with a sensitive stomach, and awesome blow dried hair. I only sorta remember that afternoon... oh ya I spent it with Madie :D We did hw at our favorite dessert and coffee bar, then tried to do some more at my house.... It then turned into us being our usual ridiculous selfs and her helping me write the words to Gus the Magic Drag Queen (to the tune of Puff the magic dragon that came about after a Chilean friend in my small group mistakingly misheard drag queen when someone said dragon) That girl and I laugh so hard sometimes, I think it's cause we are so awesome.
Wednesday night was Bible study and it always ends up being a highlight of my week. With everything that is always changing around here it is something in my schedule that stays constant and I look forward to the refreshment I receive from being with all the people there. I think I have spoken about this group before but it's worth mentioning here again. So far my time in Chile has been spent with a lot of college aged people like myself, some of the coolest people I know here fall under this category, but for any of you that truly know me, you know I can't do/be in one group for too long. I need different, diverse, and often unrelated, spheres of living, to truly thrive. Ever since I started to do that in Chile I have been far more happy. What is special about this small group is that it is filled with peers that are just a step ahead of me into the future. I now have friends that are showing me first hand what it is like to be a young adult, recently out of college, working and living successful lives in another country. It is such a blessing. And what is always great about small groups, and the body of Christ in general, is that we are all so different and unique. Our group really wouldn't be what it is without every single person that I have learned to love and appreciate there. Keith with his sarcasm and nonconformist adventures attitude, Janet with her more serious driven demeanor, Bryan with his similar sense of humor and flexible attitude, Sophie with her passion and wit, Ricardo with his awesome chilean accent and sophisticated air, Jorge the quiet and observant listener, Janet who is always just plan sweet as can be, and Kathi and David who hold us all together with their leadership and incredible knowledge of the bible. Long sentence? Maybe......
Thursday I got in that paper I had been quite worried about and felt a little bit freer. Plus I was suited up (How I Met Your Mother) and feeling like a boss. Oh and I was getting my appetite back finally! An after class lunch date with Madie is never a bad thing and people watching/ catching up on our weekends in a busy food court is alway a good time. Once I managed to get myself all the way home I took an obviously needed but unintentionally long nap and then hauled to get all my hw done so I could let myself out of the house for our weekly group viewing of Community, Parks and Recreation, and The Office, at the marine house. Madie joined me, she has also been looking for some friends outside of school, and we really enjoyed our night. Like Madie said "They are good people." I felt awful for not inviting her sooner but now that she is in I know she is hooked.
Now Friday is where I start feeling like I'm not nearly cool enough to do all the stuff I did. I mean seriously. After my test one of my friends here took me for a ride up San Cristobal on his motercycle, and of all the ways i've been up that hill that was BY FAR the best. The rains the day before had left the city air crisp and cleaner. The view of the city and the Andes was unusually clear. I had to keep reminding me that it was indeed my life I was living. As the colorful city passed around me I knew that the weekend was going to be something special. Spending the afternoon with new company is hardly ever boring and after we ate cheap sushi in Bella Vista (one of my FAVORITE parts of town) it was time for me to say goodbye for the weekend and head off on my next adventure.
All week the thought of this weekend had been getting me through. This weekend was my church here's church wide retreat and I had offered to help out in return for a sponsorship spot. I figured I'd serve a bit, get to go for free, and otherwise have the relaxing weekend I had been craving. Little did I know quite how hard it would be and quite how tired I would be when I returned back to my room today..... I'm exhausted, sore, and yet incredibly refreshed in other ways. I wouldn't change A SINGLE thing! Now this part of my weekend will have to be the next blog because it deserves some time, length, and attention. Plus it is late.... I'm actually impressed I made it this far. Chao chao and goodnight to everyone whom I love so insanely much!
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