Finally

note: will post pics later :)

Amigos,

Sorry it has been so long since I updated. A lot has happened, and I don’t want to write a novel so I am going to do some bullet points since the last time I wrote.

• I moved into my new home!
• I live with a host mom and host sister
• My mom’s name is Rossana and she is a stock brocker here in Chile, she is so loving and easy going and great for conversation. She is independent and strong but also feminine and maternal.
• My host sisters name is Valentina, she is 14 and loves to surf! She is absolutely gorgeous with long dark hair and a tall and skinny frame. She is more introverted but also very sweet, we have started to become good friends.
• My room is darling (see pics)
• So far the people on my program are incredible! I couldn’t have asked for a better group. Not only are they easy going, but also seekers of all types of knowledge. They love to go out and have fun, but they more enjoy the style of fun I have, relaxed. No one dresses up to go out (maybe a little on the weekend) its very tranquil and a great time.
• I’m just choosing my classes now, so I don’t know what they will be yet. They start next Monday, I’m a bit nervous about that.

Now that we’re caught up a bit, I feel like writing about the way I feel instead of what I’ve been doing in every moment.

Honestly, I’ve been here two weeks and I already feel like a new person. My eyes are so wide, like a newborn baby taking in all that this world has to offer. Because everything is new, it is sort of like a new start. I am questioning why I do things the way I do, or why we believe certain things in the U.S. One astonishing thing here, is that they talk about weight very often. If someone is very skinny they say, “ay, flaquita” which means, oh my little skinny girl. Sort of like a term of endearment. Likewise, they also say “ay, gordita” which means oh my little fat girl. When I first heard it, I was thinking to myself oh my god, I can’t believe how rude they are. But they say it as a term of endearment and no one seems to mind. Also, for a black person, they say “negrito” meaning little black boy. This is so politically incorrect in the U.S. What I realized though, is that it is us in the United States that gives value to people being skinny. Here, it is more just an observation like oh that girl is a little chubby… rather than judging her thinking, oh man that girl is so fat. I explained to my host mom that in the U.S we would never call someone fat because they would be offended. And she was shocked! I told her about all of the pressures to be thin, and she was appalled by it! Which is funny to me because she is very thin and “beautiful” according to U.S standards. That was just an observation I made, that because I am used the united states standards of beauty I think of “gordita” as bad, instead of a characteristic like brown hair or brown eyes.

Bueno, I am going to go out now so I can’t write much more… other than I have felt truly happy for the past week. I feel happiness in my bones, down to my core, shining on corners and crevices that haven’t seen light in some time. I feel full, like my blood is warm. It feels good.

Hope you have the full feeling today,

Nessagirl.