Days 51-56

This past week hasn't been the most eventful for me. On Wednesday, I was actually smiling when I walked into school. Crazy right? I hadn't realized how much I had missed all of my classmates! Apparently they all missed me too and they were SUPER excited when they alll saw me. It's easy to notice when I'm gone because a blonde like me really stands out. We didn't do anything all day. Well in the classes where I actually usually have to do something anyways. (: Nicolasa, the maid, wasn't at the house for a few days so for lunch we ordered chicken and noodles. I was just happy that it was roasted chicken instead of fried, and that it was pasta with carrots instead of french fries! After lunch, I had to help mamá clean up and I loved it because I felt more at home since it was a habit to clean up after meals with my family in the USA. That afternoon, I went with Nelly, a girl who works with my dad, to get my ID card but the place was closed. It was nice to learn a little about Nelly though. After we realized the place was closed, she went to work on something with my dad close to La Plaza before he left for his flight to Santa Cruz for a business trip. I walked home and on my way I bought some bananas to make banana bread, three slices of a DELICOUS pineapple that the vendor talked me into, and a TON of mangos to have for breakfasts and afternoon snacks. (: Gotta love mangos! That night I had supper with mamá, Tía A, and Abuelita and it was nice to be able to sit down and talk with all of them.

Thursday was a little crazy. I seriously have had more stomach problems since I've been here than I've had in the last 3 years combined! We didn't have school because it was some government day or something. I helped Nicolasa and mamá clean and organize EVERYTHING from the kitchen to the pretty glasses and vases filling the china cabinets in the living/dining room. I didn't mind helping out at all and of course I LOVE organizing but when I wasn't the one choosing how to organize things, I was glad when my Tía A came down to make "calzones rotos" with me. She's from Chile and calzones rotos are a traditional pastry from Chile. They taste similar to funnel cakes but not quite so soft. You can also put powdered sugar, jam, or other toppings on them if you want, but we chose to leave them without because they tasted sooo good. I was extremely happy to finally make something while I was here and it was even better that I learned how to make something new to take back to make for my family in the US. That night, it was drizzling rain but mamá, Tía A, Nico, and I went for a drive through Sucre. We went to a place called the Recoleta where there's a school, two museums, and a amazing view of the city!!!

It was really rainy and cold on Friday so all I wanted to do was go home, grab some hot chocolate and a blanket, and watch a movie but sadly, I had to go to school. Of course, I didn't really do much anyways. For lunch we had soup which was perfect because I had been dreaming of soup all morning at school. I spent the afternoon learning a little bit of German. It's amazing how much more your mind is open to new things on exchange! Afterwards, I went down to talk to the ladies from the salon who I haven't talked to in FOREVER. They all asked me where I've been living! I walked to my Rotary meeting around 8:30 and enjoyed talking to everyone there and hearing about how Adrianna's expierences are the same and how they're different than mine. The guy from Europe who's in Sucre's Rotary club this year gave a video presentation of the orchestra that he's with doing a show type thing for the orphanage that my Rotary club sponsors. I'm really hoping I can get into some kind of volunteer oportunities with an orphanage this year. Once I got home that night, Nico decided it would be hilarious to hide around the corner with a plastic gun and scare the crap out of me when I was coming up the stairs. Mamá, Nico, and I all had a HUGE laugh about that.

On Saturday, I woke up to find one of Nicolasa's 3 year old kids at our house. He was adorable! When I was cutting up my mango for breakfast, he just stood there watching me with big eyes so I gave him a piece and he ran away super excited to show his mom. Then I brought a piece of paper and some of the 4th of July stickers I had brought from the US and I sat down with him at the table. I would help him peel off the stickers he wanted and he would stick them on the paper. I think he liked the stickiness of the stickers more than what they actually looked like. He had the BIGGEST smile on his face the whole time! It was so cute! He liked it so much that I gave a sheet of stickers to Nicolasa to take home for her 3 year old daughter as well. Afterwards, I got ready for the day before helping Nicolasa get ready for lunch. Later, Adrianna was going to hang out with me and help me make banana bread but she wasn't feeling good so I made the banana bread by myself. Between trying to find all the ingredients, learning how to work a new oven, having to use the wrong pan for banana bread, and Nico thinking it was hilarious to be constantly scaring me when I was most concentrated, it was a pretty interesting night. Then I skyped with my parents for a couple hours and it was so nice to talk to them. (: I think I almost talk to them more now than when I'm living with them!

I was actually able to stay asleep until 8 today (Sunday)! It's a miracle! I started off my day right by watching some cartoons (in Spanish of course) that brought back a ton of childhood memories. Then I cleaned and organized my room until my grandparents (papá's parents) picked me up to go to church. Church was the same length as last time but it was a little different. Instead of the bible study, there was just a really long sermon. Even though I don't understand everything the pastor dude is saying, I enjoy listening to it all. For lunch, I went with my family to the same restarurant where I tried the interesting cow parts and Nico started a fun little question game for us. It gave us all some good laughs. After that, Miguel, Paula (the girl from the salon who went to eat with us), and I were dropped off at the house while mamá, Abuelita, Tía A, and Nico went to get ice cream, take Nico to tennis, and pick up papá from the airport. I ended up skyping with lots of my family in the US (relatives too) since they were together for a special occasion and it was nice to catch up with them. Once papá and the rest of my family got home, we sat in the kitchen talking and then us 4 went to my parents' room to watch the movie Django. It was really nice to have one of those Sunday family movie type nights. I miss that from when I was really little. I also tried some Bolivian coffee. I'm not much of a coffee fan but natural coffee, from Bolivia and from Haiti, I have really liked! Before I headed to bed, mamá showed me some pictures of Natalia (my host sister in the US) during homecoming week so I got to explain to her what homecoming was. 

Today (Monday), I went with Nelly to get my ID card papers turned in again since the place is actually open in the morning, and by the time we were done, it wasn't worth going back to school so I got to go hang out at home. Sadly, I think Thurdsay morning (to pick up my ID card) is the last time for this school year that I'll get to miss school. We had some really good fish for lunch and at 2:30, I headed to my Spanish classes. I have a different teacher this week, Áleida. I really like her too and we played some fun games to help me improve my speaking with pronouns. We also started watching the movie Slumdog Millionaire. However, I have to admit my favorite thing about my Spanish classes today was trying apí. Apí is a thicker drink made from purple corn with sugar and cinnamon. It was SO good!!! After my classes, I walked home to relax for the night. 

Calzones Rotos

Part of the Recoleta

Apí