the south of Chile > everything

HERE I AM Y'ALL. Alive and thriving in the United States of America. Feeling very weird about being back. Like why is everything in English.

I'm 21 now. For my birthday I went out to a karaoke bar AND a salsateca. I was so busy singing karaoke and salsa dancing that I actually forgot to binge drink. So yeah I didn't get drunk on my 21st birthday. Deconstructing social norms y'all.

The next night we began our trip to the south of Chile. Before our trip I was thinking ok after 10 days of traveling I'll be tired and homesick and ready to leave Chile. NOPE. Literally the opposite happened. Turns out it was possible for me to fall more in love with that country and the people in it.

We started our trip with a 13 hour overnight bus and landed in Puerto Varas, a small German town in the Lake District. We showed up at our hostel and an hour later we were accidentally riding bikes 36 kilometers to the neighboring town. The next day Pierre, our hostel owner, took us kayaking. So I don't repeat the phrase "It was really beautiful" too much, I'll just say it now. ALL OF SOUTHERN CHILE IS REALLY BEAUTIFUL. The third day we took a bus to Lago de Todos Los Santos. My chin was on the ground the entire time.

That night we took a plane down to the bottom of the world. But really. Punta Arenas is really really really far south. And cold. Very cold. And it's their summer.

The next morning I set out alone to go find Julia Core and her mom Barbs. I got lost very quick but it turned out great because I ACCIDENTALLY HITCH HIKED WITH AN ANGEL. He was just this jolly old man that was telling me how wonderful the people are in the south WHILE PROVING HIS OWN POINT.

I have no words to describe the Patagonia. We saw glaciers and mountains and lakes and rivers and alpacas having sex and surprise waterfalls and rocks and trees and rainbows and avalanches. It was the dumbest 3 days of my entire life. I've never seen anything more beautiful.  THANK GOD IT WAS AWFUL WEATHER. Because if it had been beautiful weather I think I would have died and quit everything and spent the rest of my life walking around mountains in Torres del Paine. It's my new life goal to get back there and spend 4 weeks in the Pat. Other than that all I can say is that everyone has to go. Bye.

On our last night in Torres del Paine we woke up in a lake tent. Literally we woke up at 2am and we were on a water bed. THE ONLY SPOT IN THE ENTIRE CAMPING PLACE WHERE WATER DECIDES TO PUDDLE UP WAS UNDER OUR TENT. Luckily by some strange coincidence or maybe the grace of Jesus Christ the refugio (the on site hostel + restaurant) hadn't made enough bread so they had two people in the kitchen making bread all night for the next day's supply. They said we could come in for the night so we ditched our tent and piled into the dining room and they fed us chocolate and peaches and bread and avocado and tea and coffee and we stayed up chatting with our new friends until the sun rose and they helped us rescue our flooded tent and just like that we were back on the trails. Lol.

We landed back in Punta Arenas that night like what the hell just happened. Still recovering.

I still have dirt collected at the bottom of my water bottle from drinking the fresh river water in Torres del Paine and I'm never washing it out.

The next day we just hung out in Punta Arenas. We always choose where to eat based on which place looks the shittiest. Because in Chile that usually means the best food. We ended up hitting jackpot. Spring even had a strange man spray his cologne on her.

The next morning at 6am we took a flight to Puerto Montt to spend the day there before taking an overnight bus back to Santiago. At this point we were pretty weary and kinda sick and it was raining and we had all our stuff and so we were just thinking let's just get this day over with by sitting in a cafe all day.

TURNED OUT TO BE A MAGICAL PERFECT DAY: We met a woman named Carmen who invited us into her slipper workshop. A SLIPPER WORKSHOP PEOPLE. She then turned out to be the most marvelous and wise and beautiful woman on planet earth and we stood talking to her for 45 minutes before she had to go babysit her grandkids. But not before introducing us to her friends who also had shops in the plaza omg I'm getting teary eyed writing about this day because it was so special and they all warmly welcomed us with big smiles and Carmen introduced one woman as "our other mama chilena" and we told this Argentinian man named Ruben we were studying in Santiago and he just kept saying "excelente" with his bright blue eyes and Argentinian accent. But wait it got better. Then we ate lunch where we paid less than $6 for a gourmet 3 course lunch and he let us stay there for 3 hours using his wifi and avoiding the hail outside. I felt like Lorelai in Luke's diner from Gilmore Girls except this man was much nicer than Luke and I'm Jessica and we were in Chile. Sarah fell down the flight of stairs walking to the bathroom and he gave her a chocolate bar after to make her feel better. A CHOCOLATE BAR. Then we went back to the plaza where Carmen makes her slippers to look around and ended up talking to Ruben more and he told us stories of moving to Puerto Montt with his future wife after knowing her for 3 days whom he did end up marrying and was with for 15 years before she died of cancer this year. Ruben was also a paraplegic at one point in his life after a bad car accident but said it was a miracle and he recovered to be able to walk with just a limp and have one working arm and now he makes salmon leather because he can do it with one hand. Then Carmen came back and invited us into her workshop for tea and so duh we did and she told us more stories and said we are all welcome back anytime. All we need is a backpack and to hitchhike down and we can stay with her. And people ask me why I love Chile LOL.

AND THAT ALL HAPPENED ACROSS THE STREET FROM THE BUS STATION LIKE SERIOUSLY LOL.

My last night in Santiago was the most special. Our pals threw Spring and I a party in one of my favorite places, the 27th floor patio of Briony's apartment building that overlooks the whole city where I got to watch the Santiago sunset one last time. They made chorrillana (my favorite Chilean food ever) and signed cards for us and we laughed and danced and at the end of the night when we were all saying goodbye we all stood in a circle and held each other and we had a bilingual prayer sendoff for Spring and I. I DON'T THINK A SEND OFF HAS EVER BEEN MORE SPECIAL.

The next day my pals Pancho and Bernardo took me to the airport and waited with me in the check-in line for an hour and a half before sending me off with final abrazos and encouraging words to the security line. And just like that I was on my way out of Chile.

The flight was fine. I mostly slept. The only fear I have about flying is that I'm gonna sleep through the free meal that I paid hundreds of dollars for. NOT AN IRRATIONAL FEAR. All was fine and swell until I landed in L.A. and saw the high rise buildings that reminded me too much of Santiago and it hit me that I was not on the South American continent anymore and all the people I love were now very, very far away and who knows the next time I'll be able to see them. That's when the waterworks came. So who do I talk to about getting Chile moved up by California?

Went straight from the airport to get a tattoo. One of my better decisions.

Other than that, things in San Clemente are good. Jansen holiday parties were pretty much the same as they are every year. Thirty minutes in my 87 year old grandmother was feeling up my chest and then lifting up her own shirt for a comparison all while speaking Dutch. So nothing new there.

Tomorrow I make the voyage north back to San Luis Obispo. I'M SO EXCITED I COULD WEEP.

And so ends the blog for purposes of sharing how awful Chile is. Thx 4 listening.  I've thoroughly enjoyed using this as a creative outlet. Wait until my high school English teachers find out I like writing now. But like, I tend to get busy. We'll see if I ever touch this blog again.

Happy new year, friends.

THE LAST ONE

YOU GUYS. THIS WILL BE THE LAST BLOG POST WRITTEN IN CHILE. WHAT.

Last Friday night I went to the end of the year fancy dinner for El Oasis then danced all night and didn't get home until 6am. And then I showered and went straight to my brother's first communion. I WAS SO TIRED IT WAS ACTUALLY PAINFUL. I came home after and died forever until I woke up and my mom was decorating for Christmas and I ate lemon pie. I don't know why I didn't think Christmas decorations would be a thing in my house but THEY ARE. My first sweaty Christmas.

My Thanksgiving this year was celebrated 3 days late at a table using both English and Spanish with no one I'm related to and a meal that consisted of dishes from both Chile and the USA. And we listened to Christmas music while we ate. I don't know if I've ever mentioned Chile's obsession with mayonnaise but Chile has an obsession with mayonnaise. There was an entire table full of DELICIOUS DISHES and yet they still had the bag of mayo out. Oh yeah. They buy their mayonnaise in bulk bags.

The next day me and a few gals sat on the deck of the 27th floor of Briony's apartment and had girl talk and giggled and loved each other. The sun was setting and was putting this BEAUTIFUL light over the city and I just absolutely couldn't get over it and I was just looking down at the city I love so much and was just like HEY WOW I'M IN LOVE WITH THIS CITY. Lol to 4 years ago when I didn't know a thing about Chile or that it wasn't spelled Chili.

Between that little moment ^ and Thanksgiving I just remembered again that I'm really not ready to go home. HEY LET'S WAIT UNTIL JESS GETS NICE AND COMFORTABLE AND THEN MAKE HER LEAVE.

There's this old man that sometimes rides the same bus as me. This week I noticed his haircut. Sometimes this city of 6 million people feels really small.

ON WEDNESDAY I WENT AND PICKED UP MY BEST FRIEND JULIA CORE AND HER MOM BARBS AT THE AIRPORT. I was their professional part time tour guide and having my two worlds collide could not have been greater. I had actual sore cheeks from smiling and laughing so much. And like I know we just survived 4 months without each other but that didn't make saying goodbye for another 3 weeks any easier.  JULIA CORE YOU ARE SUCH A SPECIAL FRIEND TO ME. And Barbs. I love Barbs.

I've had a few people tell me I have a Spanish accent (like from Spain) and I have never had any idea why. Over the weekend me and Julia just realized that I have a little bit of a lisp when I speak English too and that's why I think people confuse me for a sexy Spanish woman when I speak Spanish. So now I have to explain to people, "No I'm not from Spain I just have a lisp". Julia calls it the "Meredith Grey lisp". My life.

Also on Wednesday I walked around with one side of my shorts tucked up under my backpack exposing my butt cheek to the general public for 20 minutes.

Sometimes you have a relationship with the Creator of the universe and sometimes you feel like he's M.I.A. And that's been this past little over a weekish for me. I used to get really frustrated when I felt like I was talking to a wall or was having a hard time seeing Jesus in other people (or in myself for that matter) but I've learned that this is actually a cool part of following Jesus. Because it is SUCH A RELATIONSHIP that that's just a natural part of it.

People are just overwhelmingly unperfect and I have no idea why Jesus wants to be so involved with us.

My last day of school and my 21st birthday are on Wednesday, then I leave to travel the south of Chile on Thursday and then I'll come back spend 2 more days in Santiago and then my butt's getting on a plane back to Los Angeles, CA, USA on December 22nd. The next time we talk I'll be a mature 21-year-old sitting in San Clemente holding my family, weeping over my bank account, and celebrating what these last 4.5 months were for me. So like bye.

A FREE BLOG POST HAPPY BLACK FRIDAY!!!!!

WOW HI SORRY I DON'T WRITE ON THIS.

But I'm here now.

I went camping. With like 35 Chileans. And 1 fellow gringa. And 1 girl from Ireland. IT WAS SO OVERWHELMING. Like I love being with large groups of Chileans and they're so great but it's just overwhelming when you can't speak Spanish (ME.) We hiked around, roasted weenies and mallows, and stayed around the campfire until 4:30 am. Some people stayed until 6am. Chileans don't sleep. Also just a side note: I'm so much more mature in Spanish because I haven't figured out how to make weenie jokes in Spanish. One day. My favorite part was the gal chat at night. All the gals sat in a circle and answered questions and shared stories and giggled together and related with each other and that's just some of the best stuff in life. HOWEVER, 90% of the camping I've done in my life has been with my best gal pals from San Luis Obispo, so this moment also made me real homesick. I shared with them how one of the things I'm most grateful for is my gal group in SLO and how it was LITERALLY JESUS who brought us all together in 2012 when we were ALL PRAYING THE SAME PRAYER for Jesus loving friends to vivir the vida with. On the way home me and 4 friends stopped at en empanada place and I was sitting there in this rickety stone building with a huge kiln cooking the empanadas and there was Latino music playing and Chilean flag banners hanging and we were all sharing a 2 liter bottle of coke with our plastic cups (v typical here) and I was just like lol I'm in Chile and moments like this don't exist in the US of A. It was grool (great and cool @claireshannon.)

Yesterday me and two friends were on the metro just chatting away when all of a sudden I looked down and some man's hand was in my backpack. Luckily I rule and essentially said "excuse me sir but why is your hand in my bag" and then he acted like he hadn't been doing anything and tried to make small talk as if he hadn't just tried to steal from me. So that was the time I almost got robbed.

Finally felt my first Chilean earthquake. They're extremely common here so I'd been waiting. But like it was only a 5 on the good ol' Richter scale. IS THAT ALL YOU GOT CHILE.

Last week I promised the break dancing crew that hangs in Plaza Italia every night that I would do push-ups all week and then come back to begin my b-girl career. Haven't done a single push-up. I can never show my face there again.

I've given 2 presentations in one of my classes since we last talked. The first on modern slavery and the second on harmful charity/giving. The more I learn about these two things the more I realize hey wow I'm extremely ignorant and hey wow I might be part of the problem. Did you know that 70% of the chocolate we eat is made by child slaves in Western Africa? Yeah, I didn't either. So like you bet your ass I'm gonna keep learning and start making changes. Like today when I went shopping because my clothes don't fit me (lol) and I opted for the shirt made in Chile over the dress made in China. If you're wondering why that's a better option, PERFECT. Let's talk about that upon my return. ALSO IF YOU'D LIKE A LIVE PRESENTATION ABOUT EITHER OF THESE TOPICS UPON MY RETURN I can give it to you in your preferred language (English/Spanish). Please send all inquires to jessicarosejansen@gmail.com.

Last weekend I spent my last night ever in Rancagua with my YL family. Very sad to say goodbye to some of my favorites but also one of the greatest nights I've had there. One of the BEST PARTS was that I got to bring my pal Bernardo with me to let him get a better look at Young Life is to see if he might want to be a part of helping at camp in January/starting YL in Santiago.  So special. Before club started Bernardo and Pablo (YL leader) taught me classic Chilean dances and it was the actual best time. My favorite place to be in the world is around a dinner table with my best gal pals but my SECOND favorite place has go to be dancing in Rancagua, Chile in the YL clubhouse. Club was awesome and I just really love everyone and then at the end they gave me a sweatshirt that THEY HAD MADE FOR ME. I've been sitting in my room wearing it and sweating because it's hot here but I love it too much to not have it on my body. Saying goodbye was real hard and sad but I know I'll be back in my lifetime. Cecilia has a room in her house ready and waiting for me so maybe I'll just drop out of Cal Poly and move there in January.

Big fan of the karaoke bars. Big big fan. You don't need to know anything more.

Me and two of my gringa pals are officially recognized at our favorite lunch lugar in La Vega (the beautifully sketchy market that I love to frequent). Our lady calls us her niñas. I WISH EVERYONE IN THE WORLD WOULD CALL ME THEIR NINA BECAUSE IT MAKES ME FEEL SO SPECIAL AND LOVED.

It's a good thing I'm leaving in 3 weeks. Any longer and I'd have to buy new pants. #1 bread consuming country for the win. BUT LIKE I'D SIZE UP IF IT MEANT I COULD STAY HERE FOREVER.

My Irish friend Briony had a big asado (essentially a gathering of friends around an assortment of meats) at her house one night and she lives on the 27th floor of an apartment and it was at night and the entire city was lit up and it was in this moment that I remembered I live in a big ass city. Not much to tell about this night that would interest you blog readers BUT STOP BEING SO SELFISH because I'm including this section so that I can remember this night when I read these posts in 5 years because it was special to me.

Been feeling strangely homesick this week. I think it's just because I'm so close to leaving that I've really started daydreaming about holding my nieces and seeing my sister (who I haven't seen since January). But like even with this homesickness I'm so not ready to leave. Like SO NOT READY.

Christian hipsters are alive and thriving in Santiago. I went to a church on Sunday that was full of them. It was incredible.

My latino music game IS SO STRONG RIGHT NOW. I could not be more pleased and all I can think about is getting back in my car and blasting really surprising music with the windows down.

Hung with a DELIGHTFUL human this week and he told me his story. WOW Jesus is teaching me SO MUCH through him. Main lesson: God walks with hurting people through the worst imaginable situations. And then works through those same hurting people and their experiences to do incredible things later. And NO ONE is beyond reach of God's love. No one. Even when we don't even know we are ready for it. Ugh, go Jesus.

One of my best friends Julia Core and her mom Barbs Core are coming to Santiago in 5 days. There are actually no words to describe how excited I am.

This might be the most blabby unorganized non proof read post I've written yet. COOL.

IT'S MID NOVEMBER HOW

Here's just like some things that have happened these past few weeks in chronological order:

I spent Halloween weekend with my YL family. On Friday they had a mega-club for all 4 of the clubs across Rancagua. At one point there was some misunderstanding because I don't speak Spanish and I accidentally ended up with 3 other leaders performing a zumba dance in front of everyone. Also my favorite part of the whole night was making friends with a gal at club and then leaving with her to walk around her barrio to pick up her friends to come to club. Gabriel, the area director, saw it happening and thought about stopping me (idk I guess maybe gringas shouldn't walk around the sketchiest barrio in Rancagua or something like that) BUT I'M SO GLAD HE DIDN'T because we walked arm in arm and sang "Bailando" by Enrique Iglesias and now every time I hear that song I am reminded of that special special memory. On Saturday they had a celebratory 8 years of YL ministry in Chile buffet dinner at Latin America's largest casino which also turned out to be a bowling alley an arcade a small amusement park a restaurant a mall a discoteca and a five star hotel. I ate so much I hurt myself and then all of a sudden I was on a ride that was launching me up and down over and over again. Not sure why that happened. Had another one of those big "how did I get here" moments when I was eating my third plate of dessert in the middle of a table with 18 Chileans that I didn't even know existed three months ago. Life is so weird. 

Just to give you a snapshot of my weekly routine: I usually wake up around 9 everyday (YUP CHILE HAS TURNED ME INTO A LATE SLEEPER @CAROLINEDOZIER), make a fried egg and pan @lillianbussel and nescafé (can't tell you how much I miss non-instant coffee), leave for class at 10:15 in order to get to class via bus and metro by 11ish, go to class (lol study abroad though), and then I usually meet up with a pal or go dancing or do something kewl after class. So that's pretty much what Mon-Thurs usually looks like. For all 2 of you that were wondering. This week especially I've had some really special one-on-one hangouts with some very special people and I am just so thankful that we don't do this thing called LA VIDA alone. 

On Thursday night my friends in Rancagua held the first YL interest meeting here in Santiago to try and get the ball rolling on YOUNG LIFE SANTIAGO. I have never felt so privileged to attend anything in my life. To be able to be apart of the very first step in starting YL in Santiago AND being able to invite 5 of my Chilean friends to the meeting and into the Young Life story (a story that has had an incredible impact on my relationship with Jesus) was just 2 kewl 4 words. The meeting was small but the leaders here have incredible faith and I have no doubts that God's going to provide the right people to make YL happen here. So like get ready Santiago.

On Friday I spent the day in the immigration office trying to renew my visa. It was incredibly overwhelming. I walked into the building and thought OH MY GOD I'M GONNA BE HERE FOR 14 HOURS I DIDNT BRING ENOUGH WATER. But don't worry I was only there for 3. There were people from all over the world there. Literally the entire world. I was reminded once again how 100% ignorant I am of how diverse our world is. 

Friday night I performed both Spice Girl's Wannabe and Luis Fonsi's Yo No Me Doy Por Vencido in a karaoke bar. After each performance my pals were in the back corner shouting "GRINGA LOCA GRINGA LOCA GRINGA LOCA". Getting closer and closer to Latina pop stardom. 

I went on a date on Saturday. THE ONLY THING SCARIER THAN YOUR FIRST DATE IN 3 YEARS IS YOUR FIRST DATE IN 3 YEARS IN SPANISH. I think I'd be ok with waiting another 3 years before going on another one. 

And last night we made friends with street break dancers. THEY WERE THE COOLEST GENTE EVER. And they're coming to the salsateca with us tonight. 

Also. When I'm speaking English I find myself using the Spanish "ehhmmm" instead of the English "uhmmm" and I say "y" instead of "and". But I use "like" when I'm speaking Spanish. THIS IS SUCH A PROBLEM AND I DON'T KNOW HOW TO STOP ANY OF IT. 

THAT'S ALL BYE

"Es muy fácil andar por el camino que lleva a la perdición, porque es un camino ancho. ¡Y mucha gente va por ese camino! Pero es muy difícil andar por el camino que lleva a la vida, porque es un camino muy angosto. Por eso, son muy pocos los que lo encuentran." 

Mateo 6:13

sunscreened and thriving

Reporting live from my bed that I haven't left since I got home yesterday. Just got back from the 5 days tearing it up in the driest desert in the world and I may never move my body again.

Little bit of background: Instead of doing the $700 Atacama tour with our study abroad program, me and two pals, Spring and Sarah, (more commonly recognized as the Travel Team) did it on our own in hopes of having enough money to eat for our remaining two months in Chile. Here's an account of our time together.

Last Thursday we started our trip off with a bang by staying at the salsateca until 2am and then heading right to the airport to catch our flight. Because that's how you should always start a trip right.

A short flight later we got punted in Calama, Chile, a small mining town in the middle of nowhere where we could take a bus to San Pedro de Atacama. We got lost within literally 62 seconds of being there. LUCKILY, a miracle came in the form of a small female janitor who saw us struggling and gave us just the most detailed directions anyone could ever receive to the bus stop. I have never felt more loved by a small female janitor in my entire life. We had some extra time before our bus so we found a small picada with horse paintings on the walls and Christmas mugs and a wonderful Peruvian woman who single-handedly ran the place. We ordered pan y huevos and about 3 minutes after we ordered it we watched that woman run out of the door without saying a word to return 10 minutes later with bags of fresh bread. Also my café con leche came in the form of a hot cup of milk and a packet of instant coffee. I don't know when that will stop surprising me.

The first thing we did when we got to San Pedro was slack line with a local. Perks of not traveling with 40 bumbling gringos. The second thing we did was show up to the cheapest hostel that exists in San Pedro where we paid $8.50 a night to sleep in sheets that I'm actually positive have never been washed. (We watched Alfredo lysol the sheets in between guests and we loved every second of it.) The wifi worked about 60% of the time and sometimes there was hot water and usually toilet paper. But we paid 5,000 pesos for it. No complaints, folks. Great place.

Everyday for the next 4 days we rented bicicletas to bike our asses to desert beauty instead of paying big money to drive there on a tour and then to have to be on a tour. The first day we rode about 90 minutes to the Laguna Cejar. Still not quite sure why there's a lake in the middle of the driest desert in the world or how it sustains flamingos but you know science and whatever. We swam in the lake and it was v salty. So salty that you can't dunk your head under unless you really wanna hurt yourself and that you can float on your stomach without moving a muscle. We ended up talking to two Chilean gentleman in the lake and then all of a sudden our bikes were in the back of their truck and they were driving us an hour through beautiful desert landscape and paying $90 for us to get into the natural hot springs. GOOD THINGS COME TO POOR PEOPLE WHO TRAVEL. And then we were in the hot spring and Raul started singing Spanish opera and I will never understand how my choices in life brought me to that moment.

The next day we rode to Valle de la Luna. Little did I know that it's called Valley of the Moon BECAUSE THE TERRAIN IS JUST LIKE THE SURFACE OF THE MOON. So cool and also very bizarre. Apparently NASA even uses it to test whatever it is NASA does. On the way back we found ourselves on the side of the road trying to fix Sarah's bike. A guy on a motorcycle passed us and then a minute later came back to ask us if we needed help. He was SO SWEET and fixed her bike and even oiled up her wheels. He was an Argentinian who was motorcycling through Argentina, Bolivia, and Chile and he was absolutely my favorite part of the Atacama.

The next two days were just more "hey let's get on our bikes and find cool lugares in the desert" and we did it and it was great. We sweated a lot. And got really really dirty. And I never took off my adventure hat or my Tevas or my Shark watch. Took multiple photos of my naked butt cheeks in front of beautiful landscapes (as I have been doing in all beautiful landscapes since my trip to the Grand Canyon back in '13). Sometimes I got hangry or got suncreen in my eye but other than that it was a great time.

On our last night (which also happened to be Spring's 22nd cumpleaños) we walked out of the town a bit to stargaze. We had our new slacklining pal with us and now I will never forget that a shooting star is an "estrella fugaz" because I learned it while lying in dirt in the middle of the Atacama desert in Chile with a local. SPANISH IMMERSION IS REAL FOLKS.

The last 10 hours of our trip might be the strangest 10 hours of my entire life. Due to poorly coordinated bus and flight times we had to take a bus from San Pedro back to Calama Tuesday night but our flight wasn't until 8:50 AM the next morning. Since obvi we're too cheap to pay $30 each for a hostel for the night in Calama (it's a weird rich mining town where all the hostels and hotel which is like all 3 of them are weirdly expensive), our plan was to sleep in the airport. We got off the bus at 10pm and across the street there was a weird Chinese restaurant so we decided to go kill a few hours there before we took a taxi to the airport. After a mountain of Mongolian beef and wontons and Coronas, Sarah decided to make a joke like "lol, wouldn't it be funny if the airport is closed at night". And I said "lol wait that's a thing?" and she said "lol, ya" so we asked our waiter and he asked his co-workers and made a phone call and soon THAT JOKE BECAME OUR REALITY.  So here we are buzzed in a Chinese family restaurant at 11:30 at night with nowhere to go for the next 7 hours. Seeing as how our trip had gone so far I just kept saying "I'm just waiting for someone to come up to us and offer for us to stay in their home for the night". AND LOL THAT HAPPENED. Our waiter came back and offered for us to stay at the bartender's house. And so we stayed at the restaurant until closing and then the owner drove us two blocks to the bartender's house in his Mercedes SUV. The owner spoke both English and Spanish AND Chinese and yet never said a word to any of us. And why does he own a Mercedes SUV? He might be the most confusing part of our night. We all ended up chatting and watching music videos from the 80's until 4am until we took a 2 hour siesta and at 6am their taxi driver friend came and picked us up to take us to the airport but like he wasn't even driving a taxi so like this was another confusing part. By the time we got to the airport we were all just thankful and confused and happy to be alive and thriving in Calama, Chile.

Now I'm back in Santiago and while I loved my time in the Atacama as a dirty desert rat, I was actually real homesick for my Chilean fam, my Chilean home, and my life and people in Santiago. How does that happen after just two short months of being here. HELP WHAT WILL I DO WHEN I HAVE TO LEAVE FOR LONGER THAN 5 DAYS.

Also one quick special God moment I had this week. On the way home from the airport yesterday, Spring and I were riding the metro and this girl next to us was texting on her phone and crying really really hard. I started praying that somehow Jesus' peace and comfort would come into the situation. Right after I started praying, a sweet, SWEET older woman who was a stranger to the girl reached out her arm and started rubbing the girl's back and stroking her hair. Now, I don't know if that was an answer to prayer or whether or not that even comforted the girl, but I do know that if anything it was God being like hey Jess let me remind you that I'm a God who a lot of the time chooses to bring peace and comfort to people through other people. LESSON LEARNED JESUS. So like if you're trying to find me, I'll be in Santiago, Chile trying to live in a way in which God can work through me.

Ttyl.

HOW IS IT ALREADY OCT 19 WHY

Hi.

This week I found out that Chile is in South America. I went to La Vega Central (the main fruit/veggie/meats/etc.) market in Santiago and my life was forever changed. It was sketchy and beautiful and there were pig heads and I finally felt like I was in Latin America and I plan on going back at least once a week. 

Also I've realized that 90% of the reason I love Chile is because instead of shaking hands to meet someone you kiss their cheek. Which is GREAT for people like me with sweaty hands always. 

My pal Spring and I tried to make a peso on the metro by playing and singing 5 Years Time on the ukulele. Didn't go so well. 

I got my ass grabbed by this AWFUL man on my way out of the metro last week. I was so shocked/flustered when it happened that all I did was give him a dirty look. All week I've been trying to think about what I should have done but I can't come to a conclusion. WHAT WOULD JESUS DO IF HE GOT HIS ASS GRABBED ON THE METRO? YEAH I DON'T KNOW EITHER. 

There's a Christian ministry here for college students called El Oasis. It's the best thing that has ever happened to Chilean Jansen. I would really just like to spend 110% of my time with the people there. Last weekend I went on their retreat in the campo with them. It was just the absolute best. I am obsessed with every human that was there. They are SO FUN and also so very patient with my Spanish. I could actually write 14 blog posts just about that weekend and Oasis and all the fun stuff we do together now and everything ever. AS IF I NEEDED MORE REASONS TO NEVER LEAVE CHILE. I have about 50 more of them now in people form. 

I just got back from spending some time with the Younglifers in Rancagua again. It was gr8, as expected. But there was also something gr8 that wasn't expected. This afternoon Gabriel dropped me off at the bus station and LOL ALL THE BUS TICKETS BACK TO SANTIAGO WERE SOLD OUT. AND MY CHILEAN PHONE WAS DEAD. AND I DIDN'T HAVE GABRIEL'S PHONE NUMBER WRITTEN DOWN ANYWHERE. OR HIS ADDRESS. AND I THOUGHT I WAS GONNA BE SLEEPING IN THE BUS STATION.  Luckily I can hablar some español and I figured out that there was a bigger bus station across town where I could get a bus back to Santiago. Lol.

TIME HERE IS FLYING AND I'M PANICKING. I'm experiencing this strange thing where I can't wait to be back in San Luis Obispo but I also actually never want to leave Chile. It's like one of those weird things like the Trinity. It doesn't make any sense, it just is. 

Sorry for the short post. Love me. 

just another week without ranch dressing

WARNING: real crunched for time these days. I would love to go into more detail about everything (specifically about what Jesus is teaching me) but I guess you will all just have to wait until January when you take me out to In-N-Out to hear more of the dirty deets. Until then....

Last week I went to a salsoteca and watched every Chilean in the world move their hips the exact same way. HOW. 

One day on the metro this scary guy with a mask and a cape came on and I was scared until he started playing beautiful music and cracking jokes and engaging everyone on the metro AND THEN he sat down with a little kid on the floor and played music with him and it was the most beautiful thing and all I could think was THIS IS CHURCH.

I bought a missionary skirt and a bilingual Bible this week so I think that means I have to be a missionary now, right?

Young Life Slo County is killing it in my absence. I received a photo of a 21-year-old man in a pink furry vest intended for a 14-month-old infant. Wes Zimmerman--bringing kids to the feet of Jesus the best way he knows how.

Yesterday I discovered Calle Bandera. A street lined with thirty-five thrift shops. THIRTY-FIVE. And the wonderful thing is that NO ONE here likes the stuff that I like. I was so overwhelmed by it all that I ended up not buying a single thing. WHAT DO YOU BUY WHEN YOU LIKE EVERYTHING.

On Saturday I hiked around with four DELIGHTFUL humans (2 of whom I met that day) in the mountains of Santiago. There were rickety bridges and hippie communes and waterfalls and everything important ever. Here's a quick bio of my four new friends: 1. A pastor of a progressive church in the suburbs of Santiago. 2. An angel who is married to that pastor. 3. A Chilean who got kicked out of his church for asking too many questions (lol) and started making church happen in homes in his community instead. 4. A gringa who's married to that previously mentioned Chilean question asker who lived in Tacna, Peru for a year (aka the only town in Peru I was afraid to be in) and now is basically a self-supported missionary who's main objective in life is to open her home and life to anyone and everyone. All day I could think was HOW DID I GET HERE. WHY AM I HIKING ON PRIVATE LAND WHERE PEOPLES HORSES ARE JUST TIED UP TO TREES TALKING THEOLOGY IN SPANISH WITH A THIRTY SOMETHING YEAR OLD CHILEAN MAN.

On Sunday I attended the church of Banda Conmoción for the second time. I actually don't think a purer manifestation of God exists. Twenty incredibly talented SOULS are lined up on that stage playing music and dancing around together. How creative r u God for having music be something humans are naturally inclined to make and enjoy. Some people believe in God because sunsets. I believe in God BECAUSE BANDA CONMOCION.

And yesterday I just had one of my favorite days here ever. Mostly for reasons that no one would find exciting but me. Just really obsessed with all the humans here.

Disclaimer: This blog mostly talks about the highlights. And the stuff I'm most excited to share. And my proudest moments. But guess what. There are days when I sit in my living room for 5 hours and do homework. And there are moments when the food isn't omg to die for. And there are moments when I'm sweaty and cranky on the metro. And there are moments when I really miss my people at home. Or really worry about my people at home. So LET IT BE KNOWN that I'm not in some euphoric fantasy land where everything is "the best experience of my life" all the time. So if you're reading this abroad, or if you plan on going abroad, just know we have the freedom to be humans while we do so. We have the opportunity to engage the hard parts of life in a foreign country. And that is what makes study abroad the experience of a lifetime.

So ya, sometimes it's hard being here. But I've been trying not to weep for the past 36 hours because I just feel so right where I'm supposed to be. And I'm so thankful to be here that I could throw up.

Also, some of the Chileans have been reading my blog with the help of google translate. Sweet Cecilia even worked on translating it during her English lesson. I CAN'T TELL IF I'M HONORED OR HORRIFIED.

Peace + blessings from the southern hemisphere. Bye everyone.