post 15 hrs. of culture shock

Hi guys. Turns out I can be just as busy in school abroad as I am in school in the states. Luckily I enjoy writing these posts that OH MY GOSH MY MOM JUST CAME IN AND HANDED ME A SNICKERS BAR FOR NO REASON. AND I WONDER WHY MY PANTS ARE GETTING TIGHT. Anyways, v busy, but since I enjoy writing these lame ass blog posts so much I'll be sure to cut out some time to do so.

There's one thing I really just need to go right on ahead and blog my feelings about. I'M NEVER GONNA LEARN SPANISH. I'm literally so frustrated. My fellow students and I just weep together all day because we all thought we knew Spanish decently well and here we just walk around not understanding anyone except our professors and our home stays who both slow down and enunciate for us. Also the more I learn/read the more I don't understand Spanish sentence structure and rules. So ya. Feeling really discouraged. Everyone tells me that one day it's just gonna click and suddenly I'm gonna understand everything and just start speaking like a normal human. PRAYERS THAT THAT DAY HAPPENS SOMETIME IN THE NEXT 55 YEARS OF MY LIFE.

Chileans continue to be freakishly nice:
Money falls out of my friend's pockets and people return it to them. Sweet old men on bus rides give me and my pals chocolate as a "recuerdo", or a memory. I snag free taxi rides because other people happen to be going in the same direction and just pay to have me dropped off on the way. Bus station attendants run to catch buses from leaving when we miss them on accident. I fall asleep in the USAC building and I wake up to a heater directly in front of me set up by the janitor woman. And this morning the taxi man taught me how to say eleventh, twelfth, thirty-first, seventy-fifth etc. in Spanish. Seriously, bless the Chilenos.

Here's a two second recap of my weekend: Took a bus to Viña del Mar/Valparaíso. Went on a boat. Climbed up sand dunes. LOL'ed at creation. Ate a big ass burrito. Drank a DIRTY CHAI LATTE WITH SOY MILK at STARBUCKS with Cadi and Evelyn. Felt like I was back in the Central Coast of California. Accidentally ended up in a fruit and veggie mercado in Valpo alone. Felt like I was in South America (which I am, lol). ATE THE BEST MEAL OF MY ENTIRE LIFE in a local restaurant famous for chorrillana (french fries, sautéed onions, eggs, and MEAT) that no tourists know about. Paid 100 pesos (<$.25) to almost die in an ascensor (basically an outdoor elevator that goes up at a slight slant). Took a bus home Saturday night to be back for #santiagosundays which I LOVE. Every Sunday I go to church and then my mom pickes me up to go to my Abuela's house where we go to a market in the suburbs (again, no tourists, luv it) and then I get fed traditional Chilean food and am forced to speak Spanish. AND I LOVE IT. All in all, gr8 gr8 weekend.

However...

I think I finally experienced that thing called "culture shock" yesterday because EVERYTHING ANNOYED ME. Here's a bullet point list of things that annoyed me:

• I will never, ever blend in here. Getting CONSTANTLY stared at and always feeling like you're walking around NAKED starts to wear ya down quick. 
• The fact that it's winter here. I don't wanna wear 3 jackets anymore. 
• I have a bad bad cold and searched 3 stores for cough drops only to find out that they're in the CANDY SECTION because people eat Halls as candy here. WHY. 
• There's no High Street Deli, Nautical Bean, Firestone, Tahoe Joe's, Trader Joe's, Bagel Shack or In-N-Out here. How dare you, Chile. 
• People use public transport at the same time as I do. Talk about UGH. 
• They don't speak English here. Like c'mon guys, is it THAT hard. 

They warned us this would happen. They warned us in a few weeks we'd hate everything about everything until we settled in post-culture shock. And I said NOT A CHANCE I love Chile and Spanish too much. I hate when psychology is right. But last night I prayed for a change of heart about my current 'tude. AND GUESS WHAT. Woke up feeling like a new woman. So that's right everyone. I experienced culture shock for a whopping 15 hours. Just now I did what I think was some post culture shock settling in. I reorganized my entire room, hung up some decor, and drank some water. FEELING GOOD FOLKS. Love you Chile.

Also, I have now reached the 3 weeks sin leg shave mark. It's really just a game now. HOW LONG CAN I HOLD OUT.

Also, also, if you wanna read a blog series that's rocking my world please read this. Rob Bell explains the Bible in a way that FINALLY MAKES SENSE. I would especially suggest this blog series to people who aren't fans of Jesus and who really have a distaste for how they've seen Christianity and the Bible presented in the past. The way he talks about Jesus and the world gets me so PUMPED. And Christians, please don't let any preconceived notions about R.B. stop you from reading this. SEE 4 YA SELVES IT'S GR8 STUFF. See link below.

http://robbellcom.tumblr.com/post/66107373947/what-is-the-bible