Happy 4th of July to ME!...and Reba!

Let me tell you, Chile knows how to celebrate Independence Day! It might have been the best celebration I've ever had on the 4th, except for the one summer my family and another family sat on a golf course watching fireworks while my dad told jokes that nobody understood.

The day started with me attending about 20 minutes of Sunday School and then racing to the metro. Yep, I skipped church to party...hard. I met up with Mark and Sarah and finally got to see their apartment. After using Sarah's hair straightener (This was the first highlight of my day. It's the first time I've straightened it all summer!), Raquel and her son Esteban picked us up, and we headed to the U.S. Embassy, otherwise known as heaven. We showed our passports and crossed through the pearly gates. Who knew Peter spoke Spanish? For those of you wondering, this is what heaven looks like: When you walk in, you receive a coupon that says "Good for one slice of pizza or McNuggets." Obvious choice = pizza. Then you see a drink station that has various free drinks including WATER BOTTLES. Quote from the lady working, "I've never seen somebody so excited about water bottles." My response, "I don't drink soda, and in Chile, that means I've been thirsty for a month." We waited in line for our Papa John's pizza, a line that was full of conversations in which I could understand without focusing all my attention to every word. Sweet relief.

We ate our pizza and then made our way to the American flag cake that was also quite tasty. The embassy is absolutely beautiful. Rows of flower gardens and trees line the entryway to a sparkling building. We ate while enjoying the beautiful scenery. What scenery? Nope, not the gardens. The red white and blue feather boas, American flag heart shaped earrings, fringe leather jackets, bandanas, red white and blue floppy top hats, flag shirts and military uniforms. Now if I had been at home, I might have (would have) made plenty of sarcastic remarks about this type of dress, but here, it was the trendiest of style. The ceremony began at 1 p.m. (and it actually started at 1 p.m.) with the raising of the flag and Star Spangled Banner. A band played familiar songs, a woman sang (higher than I've ever heard a woman sing), speeches were given and appreciation flourished. Who knew there were so many Americans in Santiago? Even though Raquel and Esteban are "Americans by passport only," I think they enjoyed the event as well. After I grabbed a water bottle to go, we headed back to Raquel's apartment where another feast took place.

Waiting in line!


Free Pizza!!!!!!


The Embassy!


Pizza and Water Bottle!


Raquel and Esteban enjoying Papa Johns almost as much as we were!


Group shot (minus Esteban) during the celebration.


A speech. This was his last day to work at the embassy. Raquel thought it was a shame he is leaving because he is very handsome.


Esteban mocking the Americans taking pictures and videos of the flag raising.


Beautiful


I inconspicuously took pictures of the attire. Fringe jacket.


Heart shaped flag earring.


Flag shirt.


Justin Timberlake/Ryan Phillippe joined in with a flag top hat as well!


Heaven continues. Raquel cooked chicken potpie, coleslaw and BANANA PUDDING! And I ate everything, besides the banana pudding, with my beloved ketchup. And the dishes were served on hot plates with pictures of the Texas flag and bluebonnets on them! We were laughing and joking the entire time. It was an afternoon of pure joy and rejuvenation. Thanks Raquel!

Banana pudding at Raquel's house!


Raquel left to take her sister to the airport, so Mark, Sarah and I boarded the metro to our final party of the day. Patricia Price had invited me to attend the 4th of July celebration of all of the missionaries in their organization. It took place at my church and included about 40 American missionaries that are currently living in Santiago. Pulled pork sandwiches were served with vegetables and chips. Sadly, I was stuffed, so I had to pass on the b.b.q. sandwiches. And if you know me well, that means I was really really full. I opted for carrots and chocolate cake instead! And ICE! There was ice to accompany the drinks! Everybody was so friendly in their southern accents. Southern accents....yes please! Also in attendance was a sweatshirt with an eagle painted on it. High fashion once again!

I parted ways with Sarah and Mark and headed home. So, now you're thinking that the celebrations are over? So was I. WRONG! The best part was still to come. My dad knows me too well. He called me on Skype and I got to watch REBA MCENTIRE perform at the Washington Monument!!!!!!!!!!!!! Thank you technology! I watched incredible fireworks while singing along to Fancy, America the Beautiful and God Bless America. The actual thought running through my head was the following: "God bless America for producing this beautiful redhead singing before me." True story, that's what I was thinking.



All in all, very successful day. I woke up the next morning feeling rejuvenated and ready to return to my exciting Chilean life. I'm really enjoying life in Chile, but it was so nice to feel the comforts of home for at least one day!

In other news, Mark and Sarah left Tuesday night to return to Georgia. I will miss them! Thanks for the fun times we've had in Chile. I've loved having y'all here! Here is a picture from their going away party. They are eating one of those giant sandwiches!



In other other news, today I shaved my legs for the first time since I've been in Chile. Let's just say that during the process I ran out of hot water, killed my razor and left the shower with semi-smooth legs.

Mom and dad and Harry and his friends arrive on Friday! Let the good times continue!


EXTRA PICTURES!

Last Monday was a national Catholic holiday. Chile celebrates all of the Saints Days with days off from work or school. (I'm going to try to get this implemented at Truett this fall.) Our family went for a walk in the park and stopped to paddle boat. I'm wearing a sweatshirt, a fleece and my jacket. I look 400 pounds.


View of the lake in the park.


Random ponies in the park with kids playing soccer in the background.


Matias and Susan took me on a tour of downtown. We ate traditional Chilean food. I had Pastel de Choclo (a corn pudding type dish) and they had this giant sandwich!


A few of the ladies from the English class. The rest of the class skipped the test this day. Donna, the teacher, is in the middle.


Today, I ate lunch with Matias and Susan. For dessert, we had ice cream. I'm not sure if you can see or translate the flavor on the carton, so I'll do it for you. RUM AND RAISINS. Can't say it was my favorite, can't say I hated it, CAN say it tasted exactly like it sounds.

Chile vs. Spain

Chile vs. Spain...mostly in pictures! This game was torture for me because I love Spain, but didn't want to die while in Chile for rooting for another team. I went back and forth between which team to cheer for. In the end, I decided to root for Chile for selfish reasons, because game days are AAAWESOME! The world stops for 90 minutes here in Santiago. The morning was filled with honking, singing, chanting, flag waving and horn blowing. Yes, we have vuvuzelas here, too. Face paint could be found on infants and grandmas alike. The bus ride included a group of teenagers flying the flag out the bus window while cheering, chanting and dancing as loud as they could. The same scene could be found on every bus and every street around the city. My favorite was seeing the men wearing their red jerseys with their business shirt collar popping out of the top. I watched the game with my new family at the restaurant and tried my best to capture the essence of game day, but I think it's impossible. So here's my attempt...
Ps. Chile lost but still advanced to the second round! AKA there was lots of celebrating ALL night long. Yeah for future game days!

The dogs are ready!


Both in uniform


My Chilean mom (Monica) and a waiter. The whole wait staff and kitchen staff were decked out!


My Chilean grandpa (owner of the restaurant)


New siblings, Fran and Benjamin. They partook in flag waving on the street in front of the restaurant...just like everybody else on the street and in their cars. Notice Benjamin is too concerned with blowing his horn to smile for the picture.


Family pic (minus Edgar, he watched the game from work). It's a given that work and school completely stop during the game. How nice.


The traffic before the game. People rushing to get home in their cars. People running down the street. Once the game started, the streets were creepily empty. People nor cars were nowhere to be seen.


HAPPY BIRTHDAY MARIA ESTER!!!


Celebration in the streets 2 hours after the game ended.

My New Family

My new family is great! They are so excited I'm living with them, so it's been very nice to feel so welcomed. The mom is Monica and she is wonderful. Her father owns a restaurant and she works at it during the week. She makes desserts that she sells to the restaurant including cupcakes, which are unheard of here. She is married to Edgar. They are newlyweds of 4 weeks! The 11-year-old son is Benjamin, and he reminds me of Manny on Modern Family. He is a jokester and a dancer. He asked me to help him translate a Spanish song to English for his homework. This is what he already had. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAH. I laughed way harder than that.

English translation homework...


Fran, the 10-year-old daughter, LOVES ME! She asked if I could stay for a year. She can often be found hugging me or asking me to play games. When they all found out I would be living here, they gave me hugs and started jumping around. The first night I stayed with them we had pasta for dinner. I knew I was home. I'm always welcome to eat at the restaurant, which serves mashed potatoes, French fries and wonderful desserts. Then I come home to delicious cooking and more wonderful desserts. I might come home heavier but it's all out of love. Monica did my laundry as well. I came home to all of my underwear neatly folded into squares sitting in perfect little piles. I took a picture and am still deciding if I will post it.
The grandparents are one of the founding families of the church, and are still very active. He runs the restaurant so I have gotten to eat with him a few times. He speaks great English as does Monica, so that's always a plus! In August I will be coming home with two adopted siblings I never had! Pictures of everyone in the next post!

Chile vs. Switzerland

Matias and Susan are a great young couple from the church. Earlier this year they cam back to Chile from being on the mission field. They currently live in the apartment above the church office and he works around the church. She is pregnant and due August 19. On September 19, they will move to Northern Ireland so Matias can attend Seminary. They have both been so welcoming, inviting and helpful to me, and I've really enjoyed getting to know them. Matias has to take the TOEFL again in July and asked me to meet with him 3 times a week to practice his already great English. We work on grammar details and pronunciation. Susan speaks great English (and German) already, but she invited me to the younger women's Bible Study, and it's been fun to be involved with that. Our most recent development was the absolute necessity to elongate the vowels in the words "beach" and "sheet." When pronounced with short vowels, which they usually are, I can't help but laugh every single time.
On Monday, I joined the two of them at Matia's mom's house to watch the World Cup game of Chile vs. Switzerland. On the way to the game Matias honked throughout the streets. Matias, his mom, his sister and her husband, and Susan all sat on one bed while I sat in a comfy chair to cheer on the team. It was SO FUN! Before it started his mom unwrapped a newly purchased Chilean flag to wave. Oh, I forgot about Tom, the weenie dog! At one point in the game Tom accidentally pushed the remote and changed the channel...chaos, but most of the time you could find him in my lap or wrapped in the Chilean flag! Each time Chile scored, the married couples would jump up and down and hug and the mom would come hug me and jump up and down. Ha, I loved it. CHI CHI CHI LE LE LE, VIVA CHILE! They won! You could hear horns and people screaming from the streets and apartment buildings for long after the game ended. Susan and I walked to the store 30 minutes afterward and found flags being waved, painted faces, horns honking, people screaming and of course everyone hurrying to work! Chile vs. Spain, Friday, 2:30!

What A Weekend

Last weekend brought quite a few changes...the first being WARMTH! After sleeping late, I took advantage of the running trail outside my apartment building on Saturday. Running beside the river that follows the path of the Andes most definitely brought beautiful scenery, but also a long lost friend called sweat. I never (NEVER) thought I'd say it, but, oh, how I have missed sweating. The area was full of families taking advantage of the día lindo. We had bikers, runners, walkers and little children playing on the jungle gyms. I learned a few things along the way. 1) I'm out of shape. 2) Nike shorts are not the norm around here. I felt very out of place. 3) Motorcycles also drive on the running paths.
Later that day I took the bus to the Mall Alto to finish the day American style. SUBWAY! On Friday, Cotty took her nephew (who I found out really isn't her nephew) and me to the mall to eat Pizza Hut. Try to imagine my smile when I found myself surrounded by Pizza Hut, TACO BELL, McDonalds, Kentucky Fried Chicken, Subway and Dunkin Donuts. The funny thing is Pizza Hut and Taco Bell both sell French fries with their items; so the three of us contently ate pizza and fries. Beautiful! Then we attended a 3-hour church business meeting. Yes Baptists, you read that right, 3 hours. Anyway, I brought myself back to the mall on Saturday to complement my run earlier in the day. Exercising followed by unhealthy eating = story of my life. Just the way I like it! I went with a foot long turkey sandwich from Subway. It tasted like peanut butter but I enjoyed it nonetheless. After browsing around the mall (which is one of the nicest I've ever been to), I went to Dínamo, which is the youth group here (ages 15 - 25 years). It was the most chaotic experience I've had since being here. It consisted of all but not limited to the following:
1. Little boys running around blindfolded
2. Same little boys drawing pictures of their father going to the bathroom on the whiteboard (parts included).
3. Couples cuddling
4. Youth arguing for an hour and a half over the 3-minute skit they were to perform in church the next day.
5. Adults discussing a topic very loudly.
6. A couple that tied a scarf to their wrists and were walking around the room tied to each other.
7. Me sitting in a chair observing, laughing and being confused.
Sunday brought Father's Day and this church was in full force celebration! The service lasted 2 hours, but the sermon was only 15 minutes! Singing, skits, praying, more singing, special speakers, more skits, more praying, more singing, special music, and the list goes on. I loved it! The choir sang "It is Well" in Spanish! I sat with Kelly Hale. She is a missions director of a church in Kentucky and was visiting for the weekend to make a partnership between her church and Parque Apoquindo. Members from Parque Apoquindo are missionaries/pastors of a Hispanic church in Lexington, so Kelly was visiting with Pelusa, the mom. After church, I joined Kelly's host family (Pelusa's family) and Kelly for Father's Day lunch. We had empañadas, guacamole, shrimp risotto and cake! Monica, the sister, asked if I wanted to come to her house to make cupcakes. Monica works at her father's restaurant and sells her desserts to the restaurant. While wearing a chef's outfit, I made cupcakes, apple bread and rice pudding! It was right before I was to begin icing the cupcakes that Cotty called Monica. Five minutes later I found out I would be moving in with Monica and her family the following day!

Line for empañadas


The mountains get me every time


Snow snow snow!

¡CHI CHI CHI LE LE LE!
How ignorant was I to be worried that I was going to miss Chile's first World Cup game this morning because it was at 7:30 a.m. I woke around that time to yells coming from the other room and footsteps running down the hallway yelling "¿Que pasó, que pasó?" Cotty, and her nephew who stayed with us last night, were already in full game watching mode. The few moments before I could get my TOMS on (bc you do not leave the room without shoes on!) were filled with "¡Pásala...pásala! and ¡Un foul...un foul!" There are billboards on the side of the road that say "Get your LCD T.V.s before the World Cup," because apparently, the masses actually do go out and buy nicer T.V.s to watch El Mundial! About halfway through, the doctor of a nephew had to go to a seminar and leave the game. You would have thought his life was ending. Cotty brought out tea and food on a T.V. tray and we watched the rest of the game while having breakfast. Chile wins 1-0 over Honduras! CHI CHI CHI LE LE LE!
When I left to catch the bus for church at 10 a.m., the rest of Santiago had the same idea. The elevator was packed, the streets were full of children in uniforms and adults in suits running to their bus stops, the bus picked up twelve people at one stop instead of its normal two, and traffic was awful. Everyone had stayed home from work or school to watch the game and were now scrounging to get there! There were barely any students in the English class this morning and the few that did come were twenty minutes late. I love that the entire country stops what it's doing to watch a soccer game! The schools even allowed the students to watch the game at school. I can only hope that one day America will pick up this idea. It was a FUN morning to experience in Chile. My biggest problem is deciding whom to root for when Chile and Spain play each other next Friday. Suggestions? (Mom, I just used "whom." I hope it meets your grammar expectations.)
In other news, I found another bedroom and bathroom in the apartment last night that I had no clue existed. Make that a 4 bedroom 3 bath. Then, this morning, I found a second balcony. Tomorrow, I expect to find a gym hidden somewhere in the hallway...or maybe an ice cream parlor...or a skating rink.
Today actually brought probably the worst thing that I have faced since being in Chile. About 20 minutes ago, no I was not robbed, I had a plate of tomatoes, and celery and mushrooms set before like it was some kind of salad (3 things I can't stand = tomatoes, celery and mushrooms). There were three pieces of lettuce, so I guess that classifies it as a salad. Out of respect, I hate the entire plate. Scarring.

This is how I spent my morning!

K-A-T-E-L-Y-N

Last weekend I had the chance to attend a leadership retreat in a beach town north of Santiago called La Serena. By car, it is about 4 hours north and by bus it was 6-7 hours. Mark, Sarah, Jose and I took an overnight bus (very comfortable with reclining seats...see pic below) and arrived in the quaint little town around 6:30 a.m. just in time for a full day of really fast Spanish. The retreat consisted of Baptist leaders from all over the country and the goal was to discuss the identity of Chilean Baptists. I met some very nice people. The seminars were held in a medium sized room and they sat in school desks. The three of us snagged a seat on a couch in the back by the heater. I just kept thinking that I could never imagine the top Baptist leaders in the U.S. sitting in school desks all day. I was very impressed by their dedication to sit travel so far, sit through seminars all day long with only a 30 break, and then travel the next day. I can't say that I understood very much, but I did enjoy the singing...and the food, we had mashed potatoes!
During the afternoon session, Jose stole us away so we could see the beach and parts of the city. He's the best! Jose is the host dad of Mark and Sarah. He has become my new best friend. He's the cutest man and showed me his collection of pictures (family, vacations, everything!) for about 3 hours! His wife Alicia was also very nice and let me try Mate for the first time!
We slept in Cabanas, which were a change from my heated apartment and I ended up sleeping in gloves and shoes. Sarah and Mark were gracious enough to even give me the heater to put in my room, but I was still cold. I took a shower and had kind of a Cooper Peaty (I have NO idea how to spell that) experience. Only my parents will understand this reference. I'm glad I got to experience the conference and see a new part of Chile, but I must say it was nice to return to my oh so luxurious apartment!
I had lunch with two missionaries from the U.S. who are in their 10th and final year in Santiago. We made so many connections! I loved it! They lived in Spain and attended the same church I worked at two years ago. Her roommate from Baylor works at Truett. She knows Dr. Hall, who I know through Cara Jane. The list keeps going! The best part, besides the English, was the food....I absolutely love casseroles!
I taught Children's Church on Sunday. Un desastre! It went ok, but teaching children in another language is a whole different ballgame. I hope to improve my skills before next time. Well, I guess that's about all for now....wait, Chile plays it's first World Cup game tomorrow at 7:30 a.m.! Go Chile!


Things I've Learned:

Chilean prisoners are allowed to have cell phones.

There is a thing as too much bread. I didn't think I could ever get tired of bread, but yes, there comes a point when I might choose a vegetable over a loaf of bread. So depressing...

My new life calling is to be a bag of tea. Just think about what a wonderful job a teabag has. It's soul purpose is to float in a hot cup of water. They never get cold. A professional hot tub test, now I could do that.

Cell phones don't have a silent option? I'm sure they do, but it seems normal here for cell phones to go off all throughout meetings, and the people answer them!

My name will always be misspelled.

Waco is known for the Branch Dividians all the way in Chile! I've had several people ask me about it.

Santiago is good for the face!!! Either there's something in the water or my Accutane has decided to kick in 5 years late. Acne free here! My chin has NEVER looked so good!


My walk to and from the bus every day


Just like AZ. Mountains and a wash!


My apartment building


Trying maté for the first time...seriously looks illegal!


Luxury overnight bus! Comfy lean back recliners! Much better than an airplane...


Leadership Retreat in La Serena...80 leaders from all over Chile.


I've come to find out that the name "Katelyn" just might be the most difficult name to say in the Spanish language. I don't think it has been spelled right once. This time, for our name tags, we wrote down our names for them to copy in order to ensure success!!! Welp, maybe next time...


Our Cabanas


My new best friend Jose!


The four of us on the beach


Beach and Mountains. Can't get better than that! (Well, maybe if it were beach and mountains during warm weather)


The Chilean coast from the bus...this was the view for 6 hours!


Jose loves solo shots. I don't. He forced me to take one, so I tried to make it as awkward as possible without being disrespectful. Didn't come out as funny as I was hoping, but Mark and Sarah sure were laughing when I popped my foot back.