what's goin' on

Well it's still winter here, and still cold, but spring is around the corner! I have been told that mid-/late-September is when the weather perks up, and there are lots of flowering trees already in bloom!  Some have lovely little pink blossoms that remind me of all the cherry trees in DC, and there is an overwhelming number of trees covered in these neon yellow flower pods.  They are everywhere! In fact, there is a light covering of neon yellow pollen dust over all the streets in town.  It actually looks kind of cool on the sidewalks after it rains, because it pools into different swirly patterns and then dries on the concrete like that once the water evaporates (like marbled paper, but on the sidewalk). These pictures don't do them justice but they're all I have so far--the next time it's nice and sunny out I will try to get some better ones!

outside of town the fields are just chock-full of these trees.
that's the shadow of my bus in the bottom left! 

I also went this past Saturday to visit a nearby volunteer for her host sister's birthday party.  Ainsley and I met here through the program last semester, but she's actually from Columbus, IN, so we live less than an hour away back in the states! Small freaking world. She is living in a town called Traiguén, which is about an hour and a half from Angol. I had never been there before but it's a very cute town! And her host family was very sweet and welcoming, and we had a great time at their party.  The next day I got a little tour of the town and we walked up to the cemetery on a hill behind town.  I was caught slightly off-guard by how huge and ornate the graves are, and how well-kept most of them seemed.  They aren't just headstones; the whole plot is covered in concrete or marble, and many of them were covered in flowers if not actually planted with flowers like a little concrete garden bed. 

at the bottom of the hill were several little booths with gorgeous fresh flowers to take to loved ones' graves

I mean, look at that perfectly manicured garden-within-a-tombstone! I found myself wondering if it's a Latin American cultural thing to revere the graves themselves so much as a reflection of loved ones who have passed on. I know we certainly hear about that in regards to the Day of the Dead in Mexico, but I hadn't thought of it here in Chile.  Maybe I will ask my host family.  But yeah, I had a great time in Traiguén with Ainsley! Next time hopefully she'll be able to come to Angol : ) 

At school everything is going smoothly.  The freshmen are getting ready to give their group presentations on different technological innovations (in English!), the sophomores just finished mastering "may" & "might" and are moving onto combining past simple & past continuous ("I was walking down the street when I saw a llama"), the juniors are on a unit about natural disasters, and the seniors are working on a project.  They have to rewrite the lyrics to a popular song in English, so that they still rhyme and still make sense but are about something different than the original song. There have been some pretty clever results so far! Next they will have to make their new song into a music video. Very much looking forward to those...  

Also looking forward to September!  The second week of the month is my school's anniversary week. All schools in Chile celebrate their anniversaries, and the students have a week of ceremonies and activities and contests and parties.  I can't wait to see them! And then the following week is Chilean Independence Day, when everybody gets the entire week off of school/work to just party and celebrate for 8 days straight.  I imagine it's like if St. Patty's Day, New Year's Eve, and the Fourth of July were all rolled into the same week.  I, however, will not be here for it. What could be better than St. Patty's Day, New Year' Eve, and the Fourth of July all rolled into one, you ask? I'm going home to attend the first wedding in the family! My cousin is getting married in Chicago so I am flying directly there the day before, then spending 4 days in Indy afterwards before flying back down here to Chile.  I cannot wait to see Mom and Dad and Cal and Hen and Lil (and Lucy) (and my dear friends)! : )  : )  : )