Living the Dream

If you've ever had difficulty memorizing the spanish names of the parts of the body, then here's the cure for you: Spanish yoga. After just one class, I can now recall the Spanish word for heel, elbow, and knee with next to no effort. On the other hand, if you've ever had difficulty understanding the Spanish language, Chile is NOT the place for you. Most Chileans act as if the "s" at the end of a word is just there for decoration and see no value in pronouncing it. Not only that - Chileans like to make up their own words.

-Exhibit A: "Eris bacan, ¿cachai?" (which means "You are cool, ya know?")
-Exhibit B: "¿Estas lista? Ja po, ja po!" (Are you ready, let's go, let's go!)
Even a native of Latin America is perplexed by such language. Nevertheless, I am slowly learning.

On an average day, I wake up and do some reading before eating breakfast with two of my three little brothers. We usually have toast with jam or eggs along with a hot tea or cafe (coffee). The only coffee Chileans drink in their houses is instant coffee - powdered. My days of being a coffee-snob have ended abruptly.

Following breakfast, I get ready for school and either walk or take the Metro to the building that serves as a one-floor Stanford campus. I go to class, eat lunch with some companeros (classmates), explore the city and then head home. We don't eat dinner until 8:00pm, which would kill me if we didn't have "onces," a small bit to eat around 6:00pm.

After dinner, the fun begins! Sometimes it's salsa dancing and other times is a friendly bar. I certainly don't go out as much as some of my classmates, but I still enjoy the night life.

This is a typical day. However, no day is actually this well-planned. Generally, the only stable parts of my days are breakfast and dinner. The rest is determined by where the wind blows me. For example, last week I saw one of Pablo Neruda's three houses. Yesterday I ascended Cerro Santa Lucia (cerro meaning "hill") and got a bird's eye view of Santiago. On Tuesday, I took the Metro to a small college to help some students learn English. Each day is unlike any other and that's the way I like it.

I have officially started the volunteer internship I mentioned before. I'm working with an organization called Accion Emprendedora (AE). The mission of the organization is to assist low income entrepreneurs in developing a sustainable business (i.e. a seamstress) by providing classes and other resources. AE is now trying to add a micro-finance branch to the project, which is where I come in. My role is to create a profile of the market of Chilean micro-finance institutions. It suits me, though I'm sure the thought of it makes some of you yawn :).

I will stop there before you waste your whole lunch hour or study break reading about the adventures of Kelly Fee. I'm off to Valparaiso and Vina del Mar this weekend and hope to return with a story or two.

Ciao,

Kelly

Chileans love America and I love Chile.

Only one week down and already so much has happened. The very first day I got a literal taste of Chile when I ate my first empanada - kind of like a calzone with a wide range of fillings from cheese to ham to veggies. I also ate the classic Chilean completo (hot dog) and pan picante (similar to a spicy hot dog). The food doesn't differ too much from the US, but I already know the two things I will want to eat first when I return: a big ole' salad and PEANUT BUTTER (which is very expensive here).

On the academic front, we had orientation this week. I'm taking three classes (only 12 units - the minimum), doing research for a professor, and I just got a volunteer "internship" with an organization that works to eradicate la pobreza (poverty) in Chile.

In order to keep this short, I will tell you the three eventos mejores (best events):
1. Learning the merengue, salsa, and some other dance in a bar on Wednesday night
2. Seeing one of Pablo Neruda's houses
3. Being kissed on the cheek (which is customary in Chile) by a homeless man named Julio who then proceeded to follow my friends and I down the street

That's all for now. Ciao! (In general, Chileans use "ciao" instead of "adios")

Kelly :)

Here we go...

Hello and welcome to my blog! I am going to assume that you are here for one of three reasons:

1. You are a family member or friend of mine whom I invited to follow my blog.
2. You are a family member of friend of mine who clicked the link from my facebook profile.
3. You are a sketchy facebook/cyper stalker.

For those of you in category 1 or 2, I'm excited to share my experience with you. If, deep down, you know you belong to category 3, please leave now.

Now on to what really matters: me - just kidding (though, of course, this is MY blog, so if you're not a big fan of mine, all you have to do is click that x in the top right hand corner of your browser and you'll be free of me). Seriously though, I'm really looking forward to sharing my Chilean adventures with you throughout the next few months. I plan to post pictures that hopefully correspond to a good story or two (stories that don't require "...and then I found five dollars" or "...and then I did a roundoff" at the end). In the event that nothing of interest happens to me, I will certinaly post a few random stories that I made up.

Anywho, thanks for stopping by and remember that you can always reach me via email or Skype!

Kelly :)

"Maybe in order to understand mankind we have to look at that word itself. MANKIND. Basically, it's made up of two separate words "mank" and "ind." What do these words mean? It's a mystery and that's why so is mankind." - Deep Thoughts by Jack Handey