Cisternas family cookout!

Hola! How is everyone?



Last Saturday I went to a Cisternas family cookout in an area called San Bernardo, just outside of Santiago. Sonia and Daniel (Paula, Romi, Panchi's parents) picked up Romi and I in Santiago, and we all headed over to their grandparents' house. It was so much fun! I've decided this family sure knows how to throw a party! When we arrived, I was a little overwhelmed as we walked into a house FULL of people. I was introduced to three of Daniel's six siblings (there are six boys and one girl total on the Cisternas side), their spouses, children and their children's children...the list goes on. The table was set up for probably 20 people, and we all rotated through, the food never going away! A lady (I forget her name) that takes care of their grandparents made 80 (yes, 80) empanadas, steak, chicken legs, salad, soup and a delicious banana/manjar dessert. Needless to say, I was in heaven! I ate two empanadas and at least one of everything else. My stomach wasn't too happy with me by the end.





Besides stuffing my face, I also had a great time hanging out with the cousins. At one point I found myself playing on the floor with a few of the little ones, and realized that you can always connect with children...no matter the language! Then, Ana Victoria (another cousin, eight years old) came over and wanted to show off her English-speaking abilities. She was so cute! I was asking her all of the types of animals in English, and before I knew it, she was singing me songs. After the cookout I went back to Viña with the family for the rest of the weekend.



This past week was very busy at school, but it went well. On Tuesday we had a meeting with the English coordinator of the entire EducaUC program at 5:30 and then a 'back-to-school' night with the parents at eight. The principal introduced Stephanie and I (the native English speaking teachers) to the entire group of parents and faculty at the meeting. Hopefully they'll recognize me now when they see me, and I can begin to connect with the community! Then Wednesday morning I went to pick up my official Chilean ID card (so I don't get in trouble with the police!) and that night after school, I visited another really cool area of the city called Bella Vista. For any of you planning to visit, I'll definitely take you there! It's a bit touristy, but there's a really fun open market and fun outdoor restaurants. It's also near one of the universities, so there are tons of college students enjoying happy hour on any given night.



Thursday was also a very fun night. I went to check out this place called El Oasis, which is a church and service community started by some people from Georgia Tech for Chilean university students. (I heard about it from my friend Amanda in Charlotte who studied down here a few years ago while going to Ga Tech.) It was really fun! I'm going to try to start going every week and meet some more Chileans. Thank you Amanda!

What has everyone else been doing?? I need update emails!

Love y'all,
Lauren