Let me rejoice!

So celebrations have been made, and are finished. I signed the contract for my new apartment!!
No more stressing, no more worrying, no more fretting!
I'm just so happy!
This is the first place I can really call my own....even though I still do have a few restrictions from my very sweet old landowners downstairs from me.
Such as....no parties, and no loud music, which is no problem for me, as long as they don't stick their nose in my business.
In other news, next week I'm pretty much starting a full schedule with teaching, happy about that, and kind of reticent as well. Hoping that I will remember where all my classes are as well as be able to prepare for them all.
I'm getting up at 6am tomorrow....pray for me! Not a morning person, but it is what we people must do to make a living.

no pictures yet this time

I had a wonderful time last night, just taking pictures of this mini fashion walk.
I believe the 'official' photographer didn't really know what to do when I and my friend were around shooting pictures, he gave us dirty looks at first and kept glancing over to get an idea of what we were doing with our dlsr's, but warmed up after a bit and started smiling back whenever I'd smile over at him, and even started dancing around to the music they had on, fun fun.
Made some new friends with a foreign student and a Ukrainian girl, very nice people, and it was fun to have new faces around to talk to.
I haven't uploaded any pictures yet, as usual, but this time I really promise that I will post some on this blog, I know I haven't kept any of my other promises, but I'll try, I really will.
We went to a restaurant afterwards, and enjoyed a nice cold beer and some fries, went there with our new friend Fabio, the name totally didn't suit him at all, and he looked like the mac guy from the Mac commercials, awesome time talking to him, perhaps will hang out in the future.
We're packing all our stuff today, and will be moving to our new house, so I probably won't be able to post the pictures anytime soon, as we probably won't have internet for a while, but I still will try, perhaps go to an internet cafe or something.
Well, it was nice of you to stop by, please do so again in the future for an update with actual pictures...I promise, it will only be pictures, no comments or anything.

Summer in Chile

Of this whole summer season here in Chile, you'd think I'd be hitting the beaches, or at least get a bit tan somewhere on my albino body....but no
I'm as white as can be, and I can't see to convince the people of my home to go to the beach with me, how I want to go!!!!
Knowing the South Americans for their obsession with being fit...well most of them anyhow....fine just the populace within the ages of 15 to 30 or so, I'd be the fat american, dammit.
hehe....I know you all love me and will over load my blog with comments such as
'oh your not fat sweety'
'round is a shape dammit!!'
and so forth....and I really would love to hear them

end of meaningless rant

the much delayed post from me

Peace to all those of you who visit my blog still.
It has seen a bit of tranquility over the last few months.
But now here is a post to update things a bit.

I have arrived safely back in Chile (as of three weeks ago about...) but I'm happy and content for all those who care.
The trip back here was long, and tiring, and I think I slept for about a full day when I got back.

Thanks so much to Dawn and Donovan for putting me up for the few hours I was in Miami, I really REALLY appreciated it. heh GBY Don, if you ever see this, getting up at 3:30am to have me at the airport in time, was really a good Samaritan deed for you to do, as well as put up with all my incessant calling throughout the day to see if my computer had actually arrived.

But anyhow, enough with that, I doubt you're ever going to read this post, so on to the more interesting subjects for the rest of you who do read this blog.

Where was I? (such a classic self directed question.)

Oh yes, I got a complimentary international flight from Avianca Airlines. Was quite nice actually, and totally unexpected, as I had only asked if I could rebook my ticket for later on in the day as I was waiting for my computer to arrive.
But the thing was that they were overbooked on both flights, and told me that if I did that, then I'd be put on standby and I probably wouldn't even get to go on the flight at all.
Anyhow, what the sweet guy that helped me out did was ask his supervisor if he could put me on Voluntary status so that if they were overbooked for my flight (which they were) then they would put me confirmed on the next flight, plus give me food vouchers and a voucher for an international roundtrip ticket from the airline.
Groovy eh?
I thought so, plus I was hoping desperately that I'd get my computer that day as well...which unfortunately I didn't.
But anyhow, that said and done, the day went by uneventfully, with me curling up in some corner of the noisy airport to get some much needed rest which I failed to get because of the early wake-up I had.
So instead of spending the whole day in Bogota, Columbia, as previously planned, I spent it in Miami.
No pictures of me at the airport though, so sorry, I was way too tired to be taking any. And there wasn't anything interesting to be taking pictures of...well people...but who really wants their photograph taken at the airport? Really? I mean we all know that when your travelling you don't really look good at all...that is unless its a 2 hour flight and you have a really hot boyfriend/girlfriend waiting for you when you arrive at your destination.
I spent roughly 2 days travelling, I arrived in Santiago at 5am in the morning.
Thanks to Danny for picking me up at another ungodly hour, hah, I really have a lot of people to be thankful for.
You guys rock! really...you do, I'm not just saying it...where would I be without you? With all my overweight luggage and everything, ehh...no not really overweight.
But yes, I've been back for a while now, and the only post that you've gotten from me is one about my new photoblog, which not too many of you visited...well of the people that visit my blog at least.
So thats that, life has gotten pretty much back to usual again, with teaching, and studying, and all the rest of the home life activities and projects.
I'd post a picture...but I just realized that my hard drive isn't plugged in, and theres no extra plug to do so either, so too bad, you'll have to wait for next time.

Oh, and thanks to all of you who kept me in your prayers, I'm sure my travelling experiences would have been quite horrid without them.

Because of you, I've been blessed

In the Air Again

To all those who read this blog, this is a request for prayer.

I´ll be travelling for the next 2 days about, and would like to ask for safety, against any problems with my luggage (e.g. overweight, damage, loss, etc.) And that I get back to Chile in one piece.

Love you all uber much, and tks so much for your prayers.

Man I gotta make my resolutions list

I'm sitting here drinking a nice caguama of Tecate beer, and just enjoying myself, after a nice long walk, in which I ended up jumping into the ocean for a little New Years fun.
The story is that I was going to jump over this drainage ditch and get to the other side perfectly fine, but chance had it that I would slip and fall right into the ditch of stinky water (just my luck, right?)
So the only thing to do, other than just continue walking, was to run into the ocean and rinse myself off so at least I could smell a little better.
So I did, it was lovely really, as it wasn't cold today, it was very nice.
Just the water was a bit icy, so my legs froze.
But I'm in one piece...well besides the cut I suffered on my hand and the little damage my new watch suffered because of the incident.

Happy New Year everyone, do something crazy to remember it in the years to come!!!

Cosas differentes

So I've undertaken a task....a daunting task, but something while I'm determined to finish.

I am going to read a book in Spanish.

Yes, in Spanish.
I've decided that its necessary, for my learning as well as reading comprehension in Spanish to do so. It not easy, believe me, I just finished translating and learning about twenty or so words, and that was only in one paragraph.
Quite sad...I know, but seeing as there were so many words I didn't know in just one paragraph, I'm sure it will help me to learn them. Now using them in everyday speech...thats another matter.

Besides that, I had an exchange class with a friend from another home with Spanish the other day, with her basically correcting all of my mistakes when I said something wrong, and me correcting hers when she said something wrong in English. We understood each other for the most part.

In the book I've started reading, I especially loved this part.

'Revolcarse en el fango no es la mejor manera de limpiarse.'

It sounds so much better than just saying it in English.

I believe I will enjoy reading this book....se llama 'Un Mundo Feliz'

A new year...a new decade

I’ve been having a lot of thoughts on my mind recently about entering into a new decade…I probably should have started writing this when it was first crossing my mind, but knowing myself I always tend to let the ‘interesting’ things that cross my mind sit too long and then it all comes out a lot less eloquent than when it first entered my thoughts…I need to change that habit…

So I’m going to be turning the ‘big’ twenty in two days, a change for sure, its not like turning 16 or 18, it seems a bit bigger than that in a way, because I’m closing an entire decade of a chapter of my life, and to think that this hasn’t happened for ten years, and won’t happen again for another ten is a big thought. That and ten years ago I wasn’t even thinking of how big a change it was turning ten…I wasn’t looking back at how far I’ve come, weighing all of my choices, decisions, dreams on a scale and contemplating where I’ll be or what I’ll be doing in the next ten years…

Ten years ago I was more interested in the presents I would receive, who would come for my birthday party, how much fun it was going to be opening my presents and playing those silly little games you think are fun when you are ten years of age. It didn’t matter that I was coming into a new decade of my life, that I was no longer in the one digit age, but that my age had two digits in it now, I didn’t look back…I probably looked forward but didn’t think a lot about it, I didn’t wonder where I would be in ten years, or even the next year, I was content to just live each day as it passed by.

But now…it’s weird to think that this is the first decade in which I can look back, and look forward and weigh the choices and their consequences on a scale. It’s the first decade of my life in which I’m old enough to really care about all of that, and thinking that I’m already halfway to forty makes it even harder.

Things have changed a lot in the last ten years, to say the least.

I’ve moved at least seven times, been to two new countries, traveled below the equator, made a lot of new friends…and enemies, well I’m not sure if I have any, but if I do…I hope that we can come to an understanding and work tings out between us.

Some of my close friends have moved far away, had babies and gotten themselves married.

I’ve known what it feels like to lose someone you love dearly and wept about the loss, wishing that my tears would be enough to bring them back to life.

I’ve felt the distinct mark responsibility has on you, and how it feels like to be ‘on my own’. Knowing that ten years ago my decisions were made for me, and in the last four or so I’ve come to where I had to make my own decisions and not depend on anyone else to make them for me, gone through many withdrawals when I started making my own choices and made a lot of mistakes, learned a lot of lessons, and feel a lot ‘wiser’ than I did before because of them.

I’ve wept openly and felt the hurt emotions can have if you depend too much on them. I’ve thought myself to be ‘in love’ many times, but it usually turned out to just be extreme infatuation, or perhaps I’m just in denial about them…

I almost ran off and got myself married a few times…thank God I didn’t…

Been hurt, and hurt others, been sorry and been forgiven and forgave too many times to count.

So many things…in the last ten years, memories, some happy, some sad, some forgotten, some just remembered…but all there still. Everything which has come together to make me what I am today…

So here’s to this new decade, through the good or bad, through the hurt or happiness, may I look back in ten years and be content with everything that may have happened whether good or bad, seeing it as stepping stones, learning processes which continues to hopefully make me into a better person than I was before…

Estoy aqui!!!

I´ve arrived, I´m safe, I´m happy, and I still can´t speak the language!!
There´s a little update and summary for you...

Well I survived the flight, breezed through getting my visa done, and got hassled by customs and every taximan there was...but its all good, as I made it through, and came out better for it.
I´ve been having a bit of trouble understanding the spanish here though, they have a lot of fillers which don´t mean anything, and they speak very weird, in comparison to the mexican spanish that I´m used to.
I haven´t had a chance to take any pictures yet, as I´ve been busy since the moment I stepped out of the plane, with shopping, walking, business and anything else, today was the first day that I was able to sit down and get anything done, like my spanish for example, I was able to do 2 whole lessons. Unfortunately I don´t have a converter for my plug for my computer yet so I haven´t been able to work on that as much as I would like to.
I am determined to learn the language...pray for me!!!
Anyhow I have nothing else to say, I´m a pretty boring person when it comes to posting, and I´d love to get into details of everything that has happened in the past few days, but I think I´d just end up rambling on and on, and you would be sitting there praying that I would finish soon.
So adios, I will leave you to your sanity

(who knew tennis was so hard...I have to get better at it!!! I must!!!)

Hello, I haven't forgotten about you

So I'm sure many of you have been wondering if I even breathe anymore, as this blog seems to have just up and died a little while ago...minus the last post of lyrics, and the post before that of just a link...and I haven't posted for quite a while about what I'm up to..or where I really am.
Well...I have an excuse...its a famous excuse, everyone uses it a lot, but the difference with me using it and them...is cause its true in my case (ok fine, it could be true in yours as well). But I've been busy, and by busy I mean running-around-like-a-chicken-with-my-head-cut-off, kind of busy. Well...perhaps not to that extreme, but I have been running around.
I've been in Chicago for the last 6 weeks and today is my last day, I leave around 5pm today for the airport to fly the heck out of this country and all the way down to Chile!
Can you see my excitement just oozing off of this page?? Well if you can't...or you don't get the feeling that it is, then your wrong! Cause I'm so psyched to go, and it will be such an awesome experience, I'm jumping up and down for joy inside!
Its kinda weird, because up until a certain point I kinda felt like it wouldn't really happen...it was too good to be true, kinda where 'I won't believe it till I see it, or experience it' type of feeling. I kinda was in a daze about this whole entire thing...like if you asked me, I would say, 'I'm pretty sure I'm going to Chile', or 'I might be going to Chile'. I don't think I even gave a definite answer for a while there...because I didn't really believe that it would happen myself.
But here I am now, all packed and ready to go, and I'm going to be arriving in Chile tomorrow morning and so ecstatic!
So before I go now, here are some recent pictures that I've taken and also posted a few of on my devart page here which I'll leave for you to pick apart with criticism while I'm traveling.

It's all just happenstance

My life has been so hectic lately, one thing happening almost right after another. I have no idea what I'm doing half the time, but in the end it all seems to work out just right, and most of the times better than I even hoped.
Yesterday my sister told me that she was going to another home in Mex City for a day or so, and wanted to work out us seeing each other somehow. Of course, this being Mex City, we're about an hour away from each other, and so I told her it probably wouldn't be possible to work that out, and I left it at that. I had already concluded in my mind that I wouldn't be able to see her while she was here in Mex as things were just a little too busy in my life at the moment.
But then, later on, she popped up on chat asking if the home would let me have some time off if she came over here, or if they would let me go over there to be able to see her, and so I went off to find out if either plan was possible.
I don't know what I've done to deserve such kindness and mercy, but nobody seemed to have any problem at all with me taking off last night, and spending the day with her today.
On top of all that, we were having a bible study here with some of the young people in the area, and so I was able to get a ride to a home close to where my sister was staying, and spend the night there.
To be honest, I couldn't get through on the phone to the home to ask if I could spend the night there or not, so I decided to leap out by faith and just go, begging forgiveness as soon as I entered the door and explaining the entire situation (but I wouldn't recommend anyone else to do what I did...its better to get permission first). They were very understanding though and said it was alright that I stay the night, which I am definitely grateful for.
All in all, I am blessed, I don't deserve even a percentage of what the Lord does for me, but he does it for me anyways, and for that, I am eternally thankful.
But I am beginning to believe that my life is all just happenstance.

Happenings in My Life

So I got up this morning, bright and early and actually went to the gym to work out. I only did this because there was a driver to take me there, and almost everyone else in the home was going...plus My Love has been telling me I need to get up in the morning to work out, as its better for me.

But man, I've been tired the whole day, perhaps I didn't get to bed early enough as I got up at 5:30 this morning rather than the regular 7am reveille. It was a good work out and definately worth it. I think I worked out every part of my legs and ass that I could possibly work out...I don't feel any pain yet though, but who knows when that will kick in, probably tomorrow morning.

Anyhow, we had half prayer day when we got back from the gym, it was nice, very relaxing, very inspiring.

Something else that happened today, was that I was able to hold a broken conversation with a member of my home in spanish today...a breakthrough! haha, it was interesting, I had to ask him what this or that word was in spanish for almost every sentence I made, and a lot of times he would get stumped and I either had to do hand motions, or wrack my brain for another way in which to explain to him the word I wanted translated into spanish was. I must admit though, it was fun, and I didn't realize I knew all that I did till I started actually trying to speak in spanish (yes, I have been trying before, just it didn't flow that well, plus I'm just too shy to just step out and try to speak all the time, or maybe its just my pride getting in the way).

Among other things, I've started learning piano once again, learning to read music and all that. Its been quite fun, and I only started a little over a week ago and I've already almost learned Canon in D completely, there still are some parts that I mess up on, but I'm getting the hang of it. Now just to find more songs to learn on the piano, if anyone reading this blog has any sheet music then please drop me a line in the comment section, because I'm getting kinda desperate for some variety already, heh.