Almost a month, almost! :/

I'm so sorry everyone for the lack of posting on my blog, I'm just super lazy. Also, nothing of grand news has happened recently! I'll catch y'all up anyways.
sooo about two weeks ago I went to my first CARRETE! it's basically a party at a house with booze and dancing and teenagers. they usually start around 10 or 11 and end around 3 or 4. Even without drinking its soooo much fun! I don't drink because I don't think I'd like the dizziness, or the headaches, or the hangover. Its also an AFS rule. Anyways I caught on to the dancing reggaeton really quickly and it turns out I am not as clumsy as I thought hahahha. Also, last week I went to Santiago (the capital of Chile, beautifulllll) to take the PSAT for scholarships! I totally killed it! Before I went when I would think about flying alone in a foreign country I was a bit nervous but I actually didnt have any problems once I actually did it. It might have just been the addiction to Starbucks that calmed me down when I landed in Santiago and was able to buy and consume my iced chai tea latte... I hadn't had Starbucks in two months... wayyyy too long! Anywho, I stayed with a family of AFS and visited Payton Wulff, a foreign exchange student that lives in Santiago and is from the USA, so we traveled from Miami together. It's interesting to see the other side, you know? She's also staying for 6 months. Well when I got bck to Calama I found out that on Thursday I will be going to Arica! Its the far north of Chile and I will be going for a meeting with AFS. It should be beautiful. There's a beach and a lot of cheap artesanias because its really close to Peru. The only thing is that I have to travel in bus and we leave at night. I dont know if I'll be able to sleep. I am excited to see Arica (:
Oh and one more thing: I AM SUPER EXCITED FOR PATAGONIA! I can't wait to see real live penguins! (:

Uh oh, its been three weeks

This is bad. I forgot where I left off.
This blog post I am going to try to write in a civilized manner with good punctuation and paragraphs and less run on sentences. Oops, that was a run-on. Starting, NOW!
         I think since I am doing things a little differently with this post I am going to start with the most recent and work my way back, if that makes sense. Sound good? Bueno.
         THE PAST WEEK- Yesterday was Tuesday, the day after my birthday! I got up really late, showered, had a nice salad/ tuna plate for lunch, did some art, went to the mall and bought boots for my November trip and  got home and ate completos! (I realize that was a run-on, please, just let it be) Before I went to sleep I chatted a bit with friends on facebook and fell asleep smiling again! (: Monday, my sweet sixteen eeek!, was great! I woke up and drank a delicious Arnold Palmer that tasted just like a passionfruit iced tea lemonade from starbucks and went to the barbecue. Because my birthday is so close the the independence day here, a lot of my friends weren't able to make it. However, those that were made my birthday absolutely amazing (: There was a bunch a good food, the sweetest presents, cake, fruit salad and a piñata! Inside the piñata were a bunch of tiny pieces of paper with "tests of friendship" as my dad put it. For example, one said imitate Hannah, another said dance wachiturro with Hannah (basically like dirty, ghetto dancing here ahahah, super funny) and pop a balloon with Hannah. The last one was hysterical because at first we were hugging and then tighter and tigher and he lifted me up then the balloon popped but my feet were not on the ground for a good 5 seconds ahahahaha. Then I went home, had some tea, skyped with the family and a friend from sweden, and went to sleep.
Why am I giving a day by day? I think now I'll do things of interest. Sorry I am so darn fickle today!
SO! a couple weeks ago I went to a soccer competition and that was fun (: My team got first place again! woo! haha. also I finally finished the name drawing for Che, it took forever because the E had animals and lots of details. OHHH!!! I went to Iquique! Iquique is a nice little beach town about six hours from Calama.What makes it cool is it is a huge port town, so a lot of things are really cheap! We were there for 3 days more or less. I bought 3 boxes of perfume (each box with 4 perfumes) by sex and the city all for about 35 bucks! HEeeheheheh. I also got the cutest purse, it kind of matches my backpack. I ate churros on the beach, had sushi with my sister and wrote letters to friends in my free time because we didnt have wifi. I also bought a memory stick with 16 gb to store all my photos! I have too many hahaha.... its a cute little pen drive though, purple and black. It was great to come back, because I missed two days of school and everyone flipped out, "Hannah where have you been we missed you!!!" hehe. I also got my haircut in Chile for the first time and I love it. I love getting my hair cut in general but he really wanted to cut mine and gave me a discount! (: Well thats pretty much all that has been interesting! I will really try to keep up with this thing in the future....

ALSO! I AM GOING TO TAKE A TOUR OF PATAGONIA IN NOVEMBER! I am so excited to see the penguins, glaciers, torres del paine, everything! Even the Chileans here are jealous (: Hehehe(:

Until next time, dearies! CHAO!

Another two weeks? What?

Okay, so I have decided that two weeks is a reasonable amount of time to account for in one blog post. I just don't have enough time to do it more frequently! Sorry! Anywho (word compliments of itzel), I'll start where I left off, exactly two weeks ago! Okay, so the week following my last post was a big party for my whole school. It was in celebration of the anniversary of my colegio so we had competitions, games, sports, dancing, late starts, and early endings the whole week! On Monday we didn't have school, so nice. Tuesday in the morning we had mass, but the other mass I went to was sooooo boring even more boring than mass in the U.S. because I couldn't understand anything they were saying. So, I didn't go in the morning and just slept. When I got there late we had the presentation of alliances which was sooooo fun! I was a flapper in my Charleston gettup with my husband Al Capone (the guy in the photo above). Super duper fun! After, I went home and showered because my hair was in a tight bun for the presentation and afterwards was a mess. I ate onces, then went to the fogon (sp.?) which was a party at the school that went pretty late and was pretty cold but really cool. There was a lot of music and games and dancing. Wednesday we went to a camping site (like a recreational activity place) and did sports for points and such... I myself participated in a bike race, volleyball and the water war. The bike thing though went really bad for my team because it was me and my Al Capone but I still wasn't adjusted to the high elevation and had a really big problem with my lungs. I couldn't finish. My teammate did, but got really, really sick afterwards. Poor guy has a heart sickness and went to the hospital. I was so worried because he is one of my best guy friends here because he is super sweet and funny. Anyways, afterwards we relaxed a bit and drank lots of water. There was a jump rope competition. We then went to play volleyball. Here, I am actually pretty good haha. My team won against the seniors! wooo! We went back to eat lunch and after lunch was the water war. One of the best times here so far! I loved it! I think that night was the fonomimica where I was the town gossip with rollers in my hair and a robe with slippers and high socks. That was interesting. Thursday I slept in too because I was super exhausted. When I arrived they were all playing games for competitions. One game was there was a line of people from certain grades and they at the beginning one person put on a hat and ate what was in front of them. When they finished, the judge checked to make sure they ate it all and the hat was passed to the next person so on and so forth. We were losing when I got there but we won in the end! In the night we did the choreography. Everybody did so well but Tercero Medio (my team, woot woot!) did the best! ours was sooooo funny and well organized. Friday we had a choice of whether to clean the classroom or go to a church and sell things to raise money. I went to the Civic Operation at the church and it was a blast. At first I was a little confused because people kept asking me questions in Spanish and I was just like " Paine, cuanto cuesta?" and then he would answer bless his heart. But, in the end, I turned to hats which al had a fixed cost and I could model them. Hahaha, "modela americana a la alianza naranja" super funny. That night was the fancy party thing. Kind of like Homecoming. I borrowed my sister's dress and so it fit me fine up top because it was stretchy but otherwise it was a little short! Everyone said not to worry though because I looked really cute and great. So I was lke oki doki! hahah. That was a lot of fun and I actually danced! Regeton was fun and I got a hold of it pretty quick. There they announced the winning alliance whose prize was a week with street wear. WE WONNNN!!! The dance itself ended at 2 am but I wasn't very tired. It wasn't until I got in the car that the sleepiness hit me. In this little 5 seater car was 9 people. I had a really skinny senior kid on my lap and I slept on his back. We went to Maca's house but I slept in her bed while they did whatever. After that, we went to go get food (completos = hot dogs with avocado, tomato, the works) but I was so tired I didn't eat. ooph. We finally got back home at 5:30 in the morning. Dear Lord. I slept till one, bathed, and spent the day in bed resting and drawing and watching movies on a computer. The next day we had an asado as celebration for winning the Aniversario. Yummmm! That was super fun. Last week we had classes like normal but in jeans and t shirts and other regular clothes not uniforms.Woo hoo! Friday after school (we don't have classes in the afternoon) all the girls in my class and I went to the mall to eat lunch and walk around. School let out at one and we all finished eating at around 3. I went home at around 5:30 after buying some much needed chapstick. I cleaned my room and lied down until around 6:30 my liaison came over for a check up and onces. I was so tired from walking around the mall though and went to bed at like 9:30-10. Yesterday I woke up at 11:30 (how nice, 13 hours of uninterrupted sleep) I was still feeling lazy though so I watched The Incredibles in English with Spanish subtitles. I just had a sudden urge to hear Frozone say "honey, WHERE is my super suit?" bahaha I love that movie. After, I painted my toe nails blue and my fingers clear. That night Javi had her friends over (Maca, Gabo, Nico) and we just talked, ate pizza and listened to music. That was good fun. It's pretty warm here during the day and so I like to wear shorts but everyone thinks I'm insane. But really I'm not cold. haha. Today, my mom, Javi, Maca and I went to the center to buy Cueca costumes. I used Chilean public transportation for the first time! Incredible! It's actually not that bad... We got back, ate lunch and now here I am. Yep! Well that's about all folks! until the next two weeks, I bid you CHAO!

las dos semanas primeras (the first two weeks!)

I knew from the very beginning that I was going to be bad at this whole blogging thing. Okay! So, about two weeks before I left, I received the information about my host family. They live in Calama, Chile which is in the desert in the north. I have two sisters, one of which lives in Santiago for college. Her name is Valeria and she goes by Vale. My other sister lives at home and is a senior in high school. Lastly, I have a mom and a dad. So, on Wednesday the 27^th of July, I left Phoenix for Miami, Florida at 7 in the morning and boarded the plane at 7:45. The movie was Rio, which was kind of ironic, hahaha. I arrived at Miami International Airport at 4:00 their time, so the flight was about 4 hours and there was a three hour time difference. In Miami there was a short orientation for all the people in the United States who were going to South America. There were 3 other girls who were going to Chile as well. The next afternoon we went to the airport at around 3:30 even though our flight left at 7. On that flight I didn’t sit next to any of the people I knew but I did get an aisle seat. The in-flight entertainment was AMAZING. There was a touch-screen TV in front of us and it had movies, TV shows, videogames, and music. Lots of everything. They weren’t bad movies either! They had The Hangover, Limitless, The Lincoln Lawyer and much, much more. The music was good too. The plane landed at around midnight and we had a one hour layover in Lima, Peru. I didn’t sit next to the girls on that flight either and I was in the middle seat of the middle row. And my entertainment didn’t work. AGH, it kept playing Diary of a Wimpy Kid and I couldn’t turn my screen off. When that flight landed it was 5:30 in the morning and we had to work out the many, many problems with the Visas and customs and so on and so forth. We finally got out at 8:00 am (ay, Dios mio.) and we met the AFS guy who was waiting for us. I was starving so I had scrambled eggs with cheese and hot chocolate (yumm). Then we went in a van to the church-like place we were staying at with around 70 other AFS students from all over the world. I met so many incredible people!  I was, of course, exhausted. Did you notice how I didn’t mention sleep? Yeah. Well we got to the place at around 9:30 but we weren’t allowed to sleep because we were the first there and there were plans when the others arrived. We were allowed until 11 to do whatever we wanted. By the time I finally crawled into my bed it was 10. I had a 45 minute power nap. The rest of the day was spent welcoming the flocks of people coming from Germany, Italy, Sweden, Finland, Mexico, Czech Republic, Russia and much more.  I had been awake for approximately 48 hours when I finally got a good sleep. Saturday.  When I awoke I was still completely worn out, 8 hours was definitely not enough time to sleep! I powered on, however, because there was orientation work to be done. Work, work, work, chat, chat, chat, and make friends the whole day. Unfortunately, in the middle of the day I felt a migraine coming on. I was dizzy, all the time, and was having vision problems. I went to my room to lie down and my stomach was upset. I didn’t eat breakfast or lunch but threw up twice. I slept from 10 to 7, awoke to play some games with AFSers and went back to sleep at ten. The next morning, Sunday, I felt much better! My family picked me up at 8:30 and we drove around Santiago for a while. We went to my sister’s apartment (she lives and studies in Santiago) to drop off luggage, then to the Santa Maria (see photo) on a mountain, then to my grandparents’ house for lunch. The food, OH, the food. It was an asado (barbecue) and there was steak, chicken, sausage, and ribs. Lunch is the main meal of the day and there was so much food! We hung out at the house for a while because more family kept coming to visit. We left around 6:30 for the airport and my family was shocked at how little luggage I had (16kgs compared to my sister’s 22). The flight was okay but I was still tired and it’s impossible for me to sleep on the plane. When we arrived in Calama, we went to the itty-bitty airport and climed our luggage. I was met by my AFS liaison (Cecila) who recently went on a foreign exchange program to the US who gave me a flag of Chile, a mining hat key chain of copper, and a blue scarf to go with my uniform. When we got home we had a late onces at around 11:30 then went to bed. My bed is so big and there are at least 10 blankets. I am basically buried! I slept well and woke up without an alarm at 7 and went to school in regular clothes because I didn’t yet have my uniform. At the colegio as it’s called, I met Sofie de Sena, my best Finnish friend! She is so sweet, speaks English but practically no Spanish (but is catching on super quickly) and is a little more than a year older than me but in the same grade. My class is excellent! I love the people. The schedule, however, is very confusing. It is different every day. That first day was really bad for me because I still hadn’t gained my Spanish ear and I had dance, Curso, Volleyball, Math, Chemistry, English, and Language. Everyone spoke so fast. Now, if a teacher doesn’t know me, my classmates tell him/her that I understand only if he/she speaks slowly. MY favorite classes are Math and English. Math is just numbers and the words are similar. For example, Pythagorean Theorem is “Teorias Pitágoras” and 2^2 is “dos al cuadrato”. So, I understand and am able to exceed! The teachers of math are impressed. Chemistry, however, is entirely different. I haven’t taken Chem before and I jumped into the second semester of Junior Chem in Spanish. My second day of Chemistry I broke down and cried. I cant take it! So, recently my parents went to a back to school sort of thing where the parents talk with the teachers and such. When they came home, they were like “guess what! You don’t have to take chemistry anymore!” So now instead of chemistry on Tuesdays I help the little kids in my school in their English classes. It’s so funny because when I go out for break, they all yell “hola Hannah! ¿como estas?” haha I’m famous.  The weekends, oh, the weekends are incredible! I am perpetually exhausted because I am always so busy! Parties with classmates are called “carretes” and are every weekend. They go from about 8 pm to 2 am and are so much fun. Sometimes, I will just hang out with a couple of friends at the mall (which I think is really big), the cine, or even just a friend’s house to watch a movie like I did Friday night with Diego, Sofie, and Marcelo.  Yeah, so I will really try to keep this blog updated and this post was hard because there is so much catching up to do. If you want to see photos, on my facebook there is an album titled “chi chi chi le le le” and it has all of the photos I have taken so far! CHAO! (:

June, 2011

Hey all! So it's been a couple months since my last post, mainly because nothing incredibly interesting has happened. I got my formal acceptance from AFS Chile, my passport, and, wait for it, TRAVEL AND LOGISTICS! Woo! I recently received an email from AFS confirming my travel and logistics schedule and I will be leaving for Miami, FL on July 27th! That's a month ahead of what I originally thought! From there, I will meet for a pre-departure orientation with all the AFS-ers who are going somewhere in Latin America. Then, on July 28th, I will take off from Miami International Airport at 7:15 (supposedly, we all know the unpredictability of airplane schedules) for Lima! The flight will be four hours and forty minutes. At 1:15 am I will board another flight for Santiago, Chile! From there, I do not know yet. I have not received information on my host family or location in Chile. To keep me updated, AFS frequently sends me emails reminding me to get my visa (a little trip to the Chilean consulate in L.A. coming up!), health check-up and informing me of Facebook groups for those who are leave in 2011! I am very excited and anxiously awaiting information on my family and my departure! I will be sure to keep anyone who is following me updated! Hasta luego!

Chilean Adventure

Hi, my name is Hannah Spencer and I am from Phoenix, Arizona. I am a sophomore at Sunnyslope High School. I recently applied to go abroad for a semester in 2011 to Chile, South America on a language program through the American Field Service (AFS) inter-cultural student exchange program.

In Chile, I will be honing my Spanish knowledge and speaking ability through everyday use. I have been involved in learning Spanish as my second language since 5th grade and I am very interested in it. I someday hope to master it and become tri-lingual by learning Italian(maybe even all the Romance languages!). I also hope to make the world universally bi- or even tri-lingual. Before I can do that, however, I have to start with myself and mastering a second language.

Right now, as a sophomore, I manage to keep myself very busy amidst a slew of homework, studying, sports, social life, and of course sleep somewhere there in between. I am on the Honor Roll, Junior Varsity Softball team, and Photo Club. I also maintain a 4.0 GPA in all honors classes. My family, friends, and learning new things are my life. I find great importance in school and learning communication skills and I am very excited to have been given this opportunity.

Hopefully, I will be able to raise enough money for this great experience of a lifetime! My goal is to raise $3,000 to cover all the costs of my trip and stay in Chile. I am working very hard to raise money through several fundraisers I am planning over the next few months, but I still need some help to make this dream happen. Thank you for taking interest in my blog and reading about my future hopes and dreams. Whatever you are able to give is greatly appreciated; no amount is too small! I know that times are tough, but every little bit will help me get a step closer. Click on the ChipIn! gadget on the top right of this blog to help me with my journey, by making a secure non tax-deductible donation. I would greatly appreciate it if you could forward my blog to anyone else who you think might be interested in sponsoring my AFS experience by forwarding the link http://hannahspencerchile.blogspot.com/. Thank you so much!