Why hello there!

Well, I haven't written in a while! I guess I have been more busy than I've realized lately. To be honest I have been a homebody the past couple weeks, just getting into the rythm of school and internship...and speaking of the internship, well, I had to switch to another organization. The first one I found actually didn't work out,because the hours would have been way to unpredictable/inconsistent.That doesn't work so well,seeing as the units I'm getting for it are based off a certain number of hours a week. It's kind of sad,but the woman in our study abroad office who organizes our internship explained to me that organizations that don't have a lot of money can't really keep set business hours.She helped set me up at another organization called Global Citizen, which assists migrants and refugees coming into Chile. I had my first day Wednesday and I'm really enjoying it already!Plus the location is great, two blocks away from La Moneda, or the Chilean white house(who knows, maybe I'll keep the tradition of having an internship by the White House alive when I return to the U.S. ;) )It's really interesting,but kind of intimidating. They put me to work right away, with very little instructions. I was literally given a video from their website, then told "Ok now write an outline for a campaign proposal for a more inclusive Chile"-and by inclusive they mean including migrant workers into Chilean society. I just went for it and wrote out an idea of what a campaign would need, such as objectives and strategies. When the woman who was supervising my work looked it over, I was holding my breath the whole time! Luckily she liked what she saw and said I was a good writer, which felt really good to hear.There is another study abroad student from another program working in Communications with me too. She's a journalism major from Syracuse.We got to get to know each other a little more at a Saint's Day celebration we had today through our organization. It was at a church in a poorer area of Santiago,because that's where a lot of immigrants reside. The last time I probably saw that area was whizzing by on my way from the airport my first day. This time I walked through the area a bit on the way to the church. One part was literally a shanty town with houses made of sheet metal. It just reminded me that less than an hour away from my nice neighborhood here, there are people living in these situations. However, the church grounds were really pretty and the service felt very communal, with lots of singing. The vibe definitely felt different from the church in Plaza Nuñoa, in my neighborhood. Another funny thing I noticed was there was no organized way of getting the communion. Everyone just stood up and went towards the altar, somehow managing to form a line in the hustle. But hey, everyone got the communion eventually. There just wasn't the structure of last row goes first,then others follow. After the service we had lunch in the patio outside and actually watched some traditional Peruvian dances, which is ironic because I've yet to see a full performance of Chile's traditional dance,the cueca. All of the costumes were brightly colored and it seemed like each dance was telling a little story.My favorite was almost a flirty dance, where the girls(who had the brightest floral skirts I've ever seen!) would skip in circles around the guys(with equally colorful vests), who would pretend chase them-in a cute,not creepy way obviously. That's the best way I could describe it, so I hope that paints somewhat of a picture haha. It was interesting to check out a piece of culture from another country while in Chile,since Peruvians are one of the biggest groups of immigrants that come to Chile. It also made me really excited about going to *drumroll please*...Peru! I'm set to do the Inca Trek this December with my sister, Claire. We had to book it really far in advance,because permits sell out fast and you are required to go with a company. I will be counting down the months! Anyway, back to present day... after the dance show Nicki(the other girl in my internship) and I walked back to the metro together, parted ways since we had different stops, and now I'm home relaxing. So that's a little update on life for now. Next weekend I'm going to a city called Valparaiso with the program, which is supposed to be kind of like San Francisco. It will be interesting to see if it lives up to that comparison. Chao for now!
p.s. If you're a gringa and you are dying to have Chilean classmates point you out as gringa, here's something you can do...Don't forget to carry your  nalgene water bottle in the side pocket of your backpack! Apparently my Chilean conversation partner and his friends think it's funny how the U.S. students are always sporting their oversized water bottles. Nice...even my need to constantly be hydrated makes me stand out as a foreigner.