Hi :)

First off, I hope the background change didn't freak anyone out but I started getting sick of the other one and  felt like something more happy so I went with the flower. It could change though, so I'm warning you now. So in the past couple weeks I have been going to school on the days I have school, started going to my internship, traveled to the snow, Valparaiso (the beach), and Villarrica (a city about 10 hours south). Recently the spotlight has been somewhat removed from the strike because a few days ago there was a tragic plane accident with an airplane in route to a small island off the shore of Chile. All 21 people in the plane died, including a popular man from one of the news stations here in Chile. Someone explained the significance of the death to me as if Oprah had died in the US. The city is slowly starting to be more and more decorated with flags and other patriotic things for the "Fiestas Patrias" coming up September 18th. This is the independence day of Chile and it is full of fiestas and dancing of the national dance "the cueca."

For my internship I have been traveling to a small city outside of Santiago called "El Monte." It is very poor because of the lack of jobs because of the agricultural influence. Many people have jobs during the harvest, but for the rest of the year are out of work. The only down part about the internship is because I have to leave 2 hours before I have to be there in order to arrive on time. To get there i have to take the public bus, or "micro" to the metro, where I take Line 5 then transfer to Line 1, to get to Estacion Central, where I walk to get on the 50 min bus to El Monte. (If you don't get on a bus that says "autopista" or freeway it can take 2 hours) Luckily I haven't made that mistake yet. The second time we went there, my friend Favi and I went to the school where we are going to work to observe the students workshops and just see the school when it is in session. Today, Favi and I returned and after getting to the school the teacher brought about 6 out of the 10 kids we are going to work with who are between the ages of 14 and 18, them in a circle and said "go ahead" (but in spanish of course). And Favi and I looked at eachother with wide eyes cause we had no idea we were supposed to have something prepared!!! Something there was lost in translation. BUT it ended up being fun because we did a little English workshop where we went over some words and conversed about words they wanted to know and practice. So, it looks like Favi and I are going to be running a class for an hour two times a week where the objective is to work on the social skills of these timid and reserved kids who are getting ready for the working world. Although I'm pretty nervous I'm also really excited, because it is a really good opportunity to get to basically do anything I want in a class room for about 10 weeks. Favi and I have already brainstormed activities, games, presentations, and ice breakers. Its going to be a challenge, but really fun.

Another thing I wanted to mention, if you all didn't already know is that I have officially decided that I am going to stay the whole year here in Chile. Lucky for you all, my blog will continue for an entire year ;). I realized that 6 months wasn't going to be enough time for me to gain everything I want to gain from this experience and now is the perfect opportunity to spend the whole year here. I hope that after this year I will feel more confident living on my own in a foreign place with a greater sense of independence and ability. I want to continue to volunteer and gain more experience through internships as well as become completely confident with my Spanish. I also hope to read and learn with more ease in my classes and be able to express myself better with an expanded Spanish vocabulary. I hope to continue to feel confident when traveling and see more of South America. After this trip most of all my goal is to be proud of my accomplishment with the feeling that there is nothing I can't do and that I have the skills be a candidate for any job that interests me.

Me at the hotsprings "Los Pozones". You can't really tell but all the pools are below down a bunch of stairs. 

Artwork at the lake. Water comes out of the center of the eye. 

Me in front of the lake in Villarrica. This is a different day, i'm just wearing the same thing....

The group at the Hotsprings. 

- Stay Tuned for pictures of El Monte...

Also I forgot that in my other posts I was writing more about Chilean Culture. 

Cultura Chileana (Forgot what number I'm on): Most kids in Santiago live at home for a lot longer then those in the U.S. Usually until they are married, especially for the men because in most situations the women do the cooking and cleaning.