My New Look

Hey everyone! I wanted to show you all the new look. I have always wanted short hair and well...when in Chile, right? I am loving it and I feel like I am ready to just go out and explore because I don't have to worry about maintaining long hair! Here's some pics and of course, I want to know what you all think!
Love, The New Rosey :)

Cloud Magic

Hello Loved Ones!
I love you and miss you & am so fortunate
that you take the time to read about my
thoughts and adventures. I hope that you
enjoy reading this blog as much as I enjoy
writing it and that you enjoy viewing the
photos as much as I enjoy taking them.
Yesterday when I was walking the 4 blocks to
the metro stop, I became mesmerized by the
clouds. The sky was only describable
through photography, and I'm happy I
was able to capture and share
these pictures. Much love!
Can't wait to hear what you think!

The world outside my gate.

On the move.

My friendly reminder that I am almost home.

This is the cineplex that is like 4 blocks from my house.
I believe there are close to 18 screens here plus
restaurants and bars. It is insanity!

Need a Laugh?

The following pictures all have extensive stories, but the important thing is that they are all goofy and enjoyable to look at. I especially enjoyment in sharing them...so ummm feel free to enjoy 'em.

Maggie gave this emergency blanket to Meg and I when we left
for Cajon del Maipo. I told her that if I found myself in a canoe
in a state of emergency like this girl, I would use it.

Please notice Megan's left eye ball. This picture provided us
with laughter for the rest of the day and beyond.

Cat Constipation.
[Photos by Rose Fair.]

Meg and I had quite the time fixing her toilet after their big party
the night before. Luckily we now know the word for plunger
in Spanish. Super useful, huh?

Disclaimer: The problem in Megan's toilet was NOT the
cause of the above constipated cat Chiquita in any way.

Cajon del Maipo

Francisco, Megan, and Danilo enjoying the snow

My little snow frolicker

The road we took looked JUST like the one in The Holiday
that Amanda runs down after she realizes she's
in love with him. How romantic.Our own winter wonderland in Chile

Beauty in motion.
Cheers to a great lunch with great friends.

This restaurant was in such a beautiful location
so I got artsy with the photos.

I like how they turned out.

Then it was on to the casino...

Of course, it was fancy smancy.
Check out those blown-glass chandeliers!

Meg making the big bucks. I can appreciate Danilo's
classic pensive expression in this photo.

This past weekend Megan and I went to Cajon del Maipo with our new friend Francisco and his work friend Danilo. Francisco has known Maggie for the past 8 years! He is a 26 year old guy who works way too hard but he says it is so that he can enjoy a more relaxed future once he has a family. His work days are filled with solving problems with the Chinese because he works for a telecommunication company that does most of its business with China. For this, he is always being sent to dinners with prospective clients--which means a lot of boring, repetitive conversations in which he has to act extremely interested. I think it is for this that he thinks I am super cool. Haha He says that he’s never laughed so much than when he hangs out with me and that is very flattering for me. So we all planned a trip to Cajon del Maipo which is about 2 hours from Santiago in the beautiful cordilleras de los Andes. It was raining heavily as we all piled into Francisco’s top-of-the-line Jeep which we all refer to as the “eep” because he got his J stolen about two weeks ago and was so traumatized that he went the NEXT day to get it fixed. The funny/sad thing is that he had to get all the letters replaced if he wanted just the J and it cost like $50 bucks all said and done. Dad, you will appreciate my honesty here because honestly…I would have just lived with the “eep” status. We drove up into the mountains and amidst the breath-taking view, the rain had turned to snow which began to cover the mountainside, the road, and ourselves when we got out to admire the view during of drive. After trying out the four-wheel drive in the mountains, Francisco and Danilo invited us to Calypso, an Italian family restaurant nestled into the valley of Cajon del Maipo with mountains all around. Pisco sours, pasta plates, and preserved wine made it so we were all quite relaxed when we got in the car and set off for the 1.5 hour drive to the casino. At the casino, we gambled por un rato (for a while) and then settled ourselves down in a classy bar for some hor’deurves (help me with the spelling Lee Lee! I’m still working on Spanish haha) We played some games, ate nice cheeses, and drank coffee, tea, beer, what have you. Did I mention that this entire day we spoke in Spanish? Ooooh ya. That’s right! Haha We finally returned back to Santiago late at night, and Megan and I succeeded in watching Slumdog Millionaire in its entirety. At the end of the night when it was time to go to bed, Megan said to me: “Today was a great day Rosey. These are the kind of days that make you thankful for all of your blessings.” I like that.

Mis Tres Angeles

Hoy fue un dia de serendipia. Yes...I found the Spanish equivalent on serendipity in my translator and I was quite excited. Today I got up early and walked the three blocks to the Starbucks in my neighborhood to finish up some reading before my class at 2:30. At Starbucks, I ran into my first angel who was the Chilean guy that works there who randomly grew up in Palmdale. I walked in and he came over to me with a smile saying that it had been so long since we'd seen each other. Then he asked what coffee I wanted and even insisted on bringing it over to me once he had made it. Our interactions are a mixture of his English and my Spanish, but at the kernel of it all, he is just such a kindred spirit. After getting through my article for Medical Anthropology, I headed out to my university for my Bioarchaeology class. This class is one of the most challenging classes I've taken because all of the kids have taken the first class in the series during first semester. Thus they already know each other and also know facts about bioarchaeology that I am just learning. As I said in the previous post, I feel that I hold my own when it comes to naming the bones and catching on to the lab topics. BUT if it weren't for Addy (a sweet, patient girl in the class who has befriended me and agreed to be my lab partner for the term) I would be completely lost. She doesn't mind that I have limited vocabulary and that I am still learning about all the different forensic analyses that we are putting into practice. During that class, I felt like I was struggling to stay above water as I grappled for words in Spanish to describe these concepts that were already difficult in English. But Addy never minded that I was not being a great deal of help and she didn't even care that we were the last lab group to finish. She even walked with me out of school and down to the bus while we talked about the Chilean university system and her home in Maipo. I just thank my LUCKY STARS that I found such a great friend in my class. Gosh, I am blessed. So as you have all determined, Addy was my second angel of the day. After class was done, I hopped on the bus to head home. My foot is finally healed and it is painless to walk after so many weeks of pain with every step. So now that I have started running again, I find that I will bust into running at random occurences during the day. For example, when I am heading towards the bus--backpack and all--and fortunately with my Asic shoes! :) I missed running so much that I just can't help it. When I boarded the bus, I came face to face with my third angel of the day. It was a bus driver named Pato who told me the second day that I had ever taken his bus that I was his new friend and that every time I took his bus, I didn't have to swipe my BIP card. It was so sweet of him so now every time I am on his bus, we just chit chat about how his day is going or my classes. He reminds me of a little kid even though he is like 50 years old. So that was my day of the three angels. It's great when you try to be as good of a person as you can be and the universe surrounds you with good people in return.

Bellas Artes y El Merado Central

My friend Karen, Meggy, and I went exploring two weekends ago to El Mercado Central and to El Museo de Bellas Artes. The following pictures help to explain all that I saw that day and learned about Santiago. Karen is an awesome person and I am so happy that I happened to meet her on the street one day outside of my university. Amongst our many similaties, she was born in Kansas, lived for the past 3 years in Colorado (where I want to move), and currently lives in San Diego. She is here for 2 months researching for her master's thesis on sexuality and the morning-after-pill in Chile. She is one of the smartest people I have ever had the pleasure to talk to, and of course I think the same of Megan so I was very priveleged to pass time with those girls during our day of exploration. We went to the Museo de Bellas Artes to see the new exhibit Post-It City which was as cool as we'd expected. Oh during lunch I mentioned to Karen that I wanted to be a physical therapist and she was like: "Oh you should talk to my uncle...he's a physical therapist." I was like: "Ya for sure! Where does he work?" She proceeded to tell me that he is the physical therapist for the USC FOOTBALL TEAM!!! So apparently we're all going to get lunch in LA some time when I return from Chile. Not a bad connection, huh? :) We ended the day with a coffee break in a quaint little coffee shop in Bellavista where we talked for a good two hours about all sort of elevated topics. I say this because like I said before, I really enjoy passing time with Karen and Megan because they both have a lot of interesting things to say about the world. I usually am content to just sip my coffee and listen but sometimes I feel it appropriate to state my own opinion...but for the most part, I am happy to listen to their opinions about the world. Basically I am just a lucky girl to be able to surround myself with people who offer me edification as opposed to people who make me unable to by myself. Here's some pics from the day of Santiago exploration:

Me, Meggy, and Karen out on our adventure

My City, My Mountains

A pretty fountain near Cerro Santa Lucia

My favorite photo at the exhibit al Museo de Bellas Artes.

Just Living Life

Wow I haven't "blogged" for quite sometime. I guess when it comes down to it I have just been living life. I have done so many awesome things in the past couple of weeks that I find myself constantly thanking my lucky stars to have the opportunity to be here! There is so much to tell but I will try to keep it coherent and easy to follow. I find that I am experiencing SO MANY new things everyday that when people ask me what I have been up to...I begin a jumbled explanation of this and that and the other thing with some faint hope that somehow all of my thoughts will connect into an understandable utterance. In this moment, I am on my way to affirming my schedule for the next few months which is a great feeling. I have chosen my classes which are Medical Anthropology and a Bioarchaeology course that involves 2 hours in the laboratory every week. Both of the classes are AWESOME! The medical anthropology class looks at how different cultures view disease, illness, and sickness and how these differing views have lead to the establishment of different "health-care systems". The other day in class our professor gave us all cards to tape to our chests that had different disorders/diseases such as "Tengo epilepsia." or "Soy alcoholico" and we had to talk around the room amongst our fellow students portraying our respective roles. Afterwards we were asked to tell the class how we felt about our role, how we felt about the roles of others, and we even had to create a persona for who were were representing in the activity. I think this class is a great fit for me because it is the fusion between anthropology and the medical world that I have been looking for since I found my passion in physical therapy. The bioarchaeology class is great too because it allows me to finally explore my interest in forensic anthropology. I mean...we are in a lab for 2 hour a week actually analyzing real live human bone remains. It is VERY challenging, don't get me wrong, because not only do I have to remember all that I know about anatomy but I also have to know all the names in SPANISH. But I am holding my own...which I tend to do...so I can just thank my lucky stars that I have a good brain and a GREAT lab partner. I will talk about Addy more to come but I can only just thank the Lord that she is my friend and that I have her for support in this bioarchaeology class. Besides the two classes that I am taking at the Universidad de Chile, I also have to take a class on Culture, Politics, and History in Chile with the rest of the UC students in my program. This actually just started today and unfortunately my brain wasn't able to turn on very much for the 7-9pm lecture but it was great to see certain people whom I hadn't talked to in like a month! So as I sit here in bed after a very long and productive day, I can hear the rain pouring outside my window and I am filled with contentment that I have been given the capacity to do so much with my life. Every day that I spend here, I feel that I am making a difference and really taking advantage of my time here in Chile. Yay...

My View at Dusk

The Sky On Fire.

I would rather be a superb meteor,
every atom of me in magnificent glow,
than a sleepy, permanent planet.
The function of man is to live, not to exist.
I shall not waste my days trying to prolong them.
I shall use my time.
--Jack London

Change.Your.Reality

A Night At The Orchestra

This weekend Jeanny and I went to see our first Chilean orchestra! There are few words to describe how amazing it was. We sat up on the balcony and the tickets were only about $3 for students! I couldn't believe it. There was a full orchestra and the featured soloist played the oboe which is one of my favorite instruments. The sound is so haunting that I often have to close my eyes when I hear it. It just fills you with this inner peace...that's the only way I know how to explain it. It was a great night and we got to brush elbows with Santiago's upper crust and really experience something cultural. This beautiful city continues to surprise me with all of the opportunities it has to offer!

Our view from the balcony

Those are some classy ladies.

My friend Jeanny & I being goofy

Another Manic Monday

Hello to all my loyal Blog readers! I miss you all so much and I am just so happy that you take time to read about my ups, downs, and all arounds. This week is the second week of classes and I have to know for sure what classes I am going to take by the end of this week. I am praying that everything works out for the best with the classes that I still need to check out because I want to make sure I am choosing the right classes for the next 5 months of my life. An update on my ankle: I got my cast off on about 5 days ago and started walking on my ankle to try to see how things were. I never know if I am overdoing it because I am like a machine and I never know how much I am pushing myself until someone brings it to my attention. Thus I have a hard time just sitting in bed all day waiting for my ligament to heal. So I have been walking places and all the time I am conscious of two things: That I shouldn't be walking so much AND that is hurts like a bitch. Excuse the language but seriously, it is radiating pain through my foot with every step that I take. I have tried every gait imaginable to try to get the pain to subside, and I have also tried very hard to not take medicine for the pain. My dad raised me to heal naturally but gosh the pain is enough to make anyone's day really bad (to say the least).

So I talked to Maggie today and told her that I wanted to get a second opinion on my foot. She's calling right now to see about prices of visits and if there is anyone there that speaks English. I think that the doctor before knew what he was doing but perhaps many of my feelings/hesitancy about my injury were "lost in translation". I'm sure you guys can all sympathize with me...I just want this problem to be OVER! I am sick of it and I want to travel and walk freely and be a normal kid studying abroad in this beautiful country. I'm trying trying trying to keep a positive attitude but until I get to the bottom of this, I am going to continue to be a little bit bitter that this happened to me. So there you have it...

In happier news, I got a ton of errands done today so I am feeling good about that. I went to my campus to check on some articles that were supposed to be at the Photocopy Center (they weren't there but at least I checked). Then I went to Jumbo which is like a Walmart and got all those things that I really needed like black ink for the printer, folders/spirals for school, Apple Cinder Vinegar (proud mama??, and of course GUM :) Oh I also found a book in Spanish that seems really interesting and easy to read. I don't know if anyone knows it but it is called El Gato en el Gorro. haha kidding (The Cat In The Hat...for anyone who doesn't know Spanish). No actually it is a bit more elevated than that. Once I have started reading it, you will probably find mention of its profound subject matter scattered throughout this blog. My mind is beautiful and once I learn something, it comes up again and again in my memory. After shopping, I got a yummy salad with tuna and a green tea. Then I went to the main street to recharge my phone and exchange the ink that I bought yesterday that was the wrong one (ps...I had totally opened the package and even took off the seal of the printer ink and they still let me get a money-back refund! cool huh?).

And then BEST of all...I FINALLY GOT A GYM MEMBERSHIP! About time, right? I am going to my first Chilean cycling class tomorrow and there are tons of other fun classes that I can go to amidst just going to workout. I haven't been able to run for two weeks because of my ankle so I knew that I needed to do something so that I wouldn't melt into a puddle of goo and ikky-ness. It's kind of a long story, but I met a really cool girl who is a grad student at UCSD and we hung out this weekend with two Chilean brothers who she met in Colorado many years ago. ANYWAYS, she told me about the gym and she's a member so now I have a new friend who is also my gym buddy. Now that's what I call fate! ;)

Teacher for a Day

On Friday, I went with Sally to a school to teach English for the day. Sally is staying at Maggie's house also and she is part of a international volunteer program called United Planet. She'd been going to the school for a week and asked me if I wanted to come for the day. It ended up being such a great day! We went to about 6 different classrooms and I introduced myself as Miss Rose. The kids in the different classrooms ranged from 2nd to 8th grade. Each class was very intrigued when they saw Sally and I walk in. They were just as intrigued by me as I was by them I guess.

The kids have English lessons for about 5 hours per week so our job was to be there for the 20-30 minutes that each class was learning English. It is priceless to the students to have a native English speaker there and I found it equally helpful for my Spanish practice because I found myself speaking a lot of Spanish with the children who came up to ask me questions or give me presents. :) Each class was a totally different experience too. In one class, they had a book with actual exercises (the exercise that day discussed the difference between 'was' and 'were') Sally, the Chilean teacher and I went around helping the students with the exercises. In other classes where the children were much younger, Sally ended up reading Goldilocks and the Three Bears in English and/or singing Old MacDonald. The kids loved that and I found it entertaining too!

Another exercise that we did was to have the kids ask me questions in English. This was very memorable because the kids asked me questions like what my favorite color, sport, country, and animal was. I would then answer back speaking very controlled because the entire classroom was watching me and English is not their first language. This experience put a lot of things in perspective for me. Those kids found it very difficult to even say one sentence in English such as one where they had to put in was/were. And if an outsider were watching this, they wouldn't truly understand why that kid is scared to speak English. But as a 21 year old adult who is attempting to gain fluidity in the Spanish language, I completely understand those kids. It is HARD! It is an unexplainable phenomenon really...there are times when you can speak it, and there are times when you can't say something to save your life. Anyways, I enjoyed the kids questions about whether or not I liked Michael Jackson or whether I had a Facebook or my favorite: Someone asked me if I had many Chilean friends. I confessed that I had only just begun classes so I didn't have many Chilean friends. I then asked if anyone had older brothers or sisters and 30 hands shot-up amidst eager shouts. haha

Also, many of the kids asked me if I knew Spanish and I said I was learning it but it is a process. They then urged me to say something in Spanish and I agreed to the challenge. :) I said a little bit about myself in Spanish and who knows whether it was good or not...but the cute thing is that the class started applauding afterward and giving me some "ooooh"s and "ahhh"s of approval. All in all, the day was great and I plan on going back this Friday. Sally and I want to bring along a song to sing with the kids in English but we are going to have to figure out how to get the kids the words so that they can sing along. The number of opportunities I have been offered during this study abroad experience make my head spin. The sky is the limit.