End of September through October- This is a long one!

I have lots to update you all on and I will with the pictures but to sum it up I am learning more every day and feel incredibly grateful to be here! I especially am feeling grateful for my family here (and back home) and getting to go to Patagonia with Rotary!!

This is a huge line of foosball (tacataca) tables that people were playing at a "fonda" (fair) for the 18th of September, the Chilean day of independence. For the 18th we also ate a lot of meat and empanadas and got together with family friends.

I love, love, love, manjar, which is what we call dulce de leche and which is very similar to caramel, but more milky. This cake with manjar and berry jam was amazing. Having a "cafecito" like this with friends or my host mom is always really fun and delicious.

This is pate de prietas, which is ground up blood sausage, with bread, and it was the first time I'd ever tried it.

"La virgen", a statue of the virgin Mary, on top of a hill overlooking the city. I went with my family and another exchange student from Germany and to see the city with the sunset was gorgeous!

Art in the square in the city center. I don't live super close to the center but sometimes I go with family or friends and it's very pretty.

My soccer team in school! My eyes are very closed in this picture, but it's the only one I have. Nada que hacer! (nothing to be done)

The current, past, and future exchange students got together to eat completos (Chilean hot dogs with mayonnaise, avocado, and good bread)!

My family and I went to a national park and it was relindo (super pretty)! It was great to see more of Chile and spend time with my family.

More of the national park!

The group of inbound exchange students in my city! We all are really lucky because Rotary organized it so that we have Spanish class together at a local college every Friday. Afterwards we usually spend time together talking or going to get a snack close to the university. It's great to talk with other exchange students because everyone understands how it is to live in Chile on exchange like we are doing! We all have each others' backs. It's also really amazing to make friends from all over the world. From left to right there is Erica from Canada, Eleonor from France, Laurits from Denmark, Jules from France, Benedick from Germany, and in the back Liv also from Germany.

A surprise picture my host dad took when I wasn't expecting of me trying not to spill a delicious empanada filled with beans, cheese, and plantain.

I got to visit Santiago with my host family!! We saw so many beautiful views and buildings, and it was crazy to see the city surrounded by the Andes just like in all the pictures. We visited the tallest building in South America, which you can also see in this picture from a tram. While we were seeing all the sights, we also met up with some friends of the family and it was great to meet more people! It was a really amazing trip and I hope to go back soon!

Eleonor (from France) and me wearing our school uniforms and looking very cool.

The start of the Rotary trip to Patagonia!!!! We were a group of 20 from lots of different places. It was so fun to get close with more people from around the world!

We travelled around Patagonia in the bus to the right and saw gorgeous views like these mountains almost everywhere. The nature was like nothing I had ever seen before.

Rotary sign at the bottom of the world.

More incredible view. The water color seemed fake!

It was so, so, so windy! We could lean back without falling over and my hair was knotted up to my ears! This is me with Laura from Finland and Nanna from Denmark. Also, an amazing mountain!

We saw an iceberg! It wasn't too cold, so sometimes I forgot we were so close to Antarctica until seeing stuff like this!

We got to try sheering sheep and watch the herding process. It was a very interesting experience and very new. Seeing the dogs herd the sheep was one of my favorite things we saw on this ranch.

On the last day of the trip we went to see penguins!! This is Sofia from Canada, Eleonor from France, and me on the boat to the island where the penguin colony is.

PENGUINS. It was an amazing end to an even better trip that I will remember forever.

Almost as soon as we got back from Patagonia, it was Halloween, which they also celebrate here but not as intensely as in the United States. I dressed up with Eleonor as Día y Noche (day and night).

I can't believe I'm already more than a quarter through my exchange! I'm so grateful for all the people here and back home supporting me and so happy to be meeting new people, seeing new places, and experiencing new things. Viva Chile!