You would think that Sabbath in another country with another family would be different, but thanks to the Adventist culture that spans across the world it really wasn´t.
I woke up got ready, ate breakfast and emailed my friends and family to say that I was alive (the internet wasn´t working the night before). Than there was some rushing around the house looking for last minute items before leaving the house just before we would miss sabbath school.
We went to sabbath school and church. During church we had the local litte adventist school sing a song. My goodness it was awful! I however would not have it any other way. It seems to be a christmas tradition to have the local church school sing a song way off key. HOwever it was so cute and I loved it. Than the adult choir came up and sang ´hark the herald angel sing´and ´angels we have heard on high´ (remember this is all in spanish) and than the pastor did his sermon. A very normal Sabbath.
However during church a couple came in and they looked very American and I said ´hey look Americans´. Side note: here in south American they can spot americans like none other (except they think that I´m brazilian. Oh yeah I got more of ´are you from brazil? during churchI however didn´t get to talk to them after church so I was never confirmed in my assumption.
Tonight was also the church school´s christmas pageant. we went to it and it was wonderfully awful. Kids singing off-key, the bossy little girl making sure that everyone is doing their part (this girl was moving people in there proper places it was very funny) and the kids playing with the microphones. It was really christmas.
Afterwards they had hotdogs (real hotdogs mind you, in South America they haven´t really caught on to veggiemeat) and soda. I would just like to say I had tomatoes and guacamole in a hotdog bun, vegetarian pride! I saw the ´Americans´, but this time I talked to them.
They were from America (I was right!) and working for the Embassy. They went to southern and we talked for a bit. Something pretty cool was that the wife colporteured with one of my colporteur leaders way back when. What a small Adventist world.
Than I played ´Taca-taca´(fusbol) and me and my friend pink stomped everyone. I have never played ´taca-taca´ so well in my life it was so much fun. Than we came back.
So my first official day in Chile was nice. Relaxing and a good way to get in the culture. NOt so shocking since it was Sabbath and Adventists are so much alike where ever you go. I love Chile!
Showing posts with label chile. Show all posts
Showing posts with label chile. Show all posts
Saturday, December 22, 2007
Vacciones de Navidad...Vamos a Chile!
So the time has actually come for christmas vacation and I have choosen the option of going to Chile. I am staying with a friend that I have met at the UAP. Her name is Camila, but we all call her Pink. Any who here is the journey so far.
So I left at 4:40 p.m. on thursday from the UAP and was pretty excited. Really who wouldn´t be excited if they were going to Chile (now Uruguay is a different case)? So I left with another ACA student who was by coincidence also going to Chile on the same day. This was really good because my traveling buddy never showed (he was a native of Chile) so at least I wasn´t going to be alone. (at this moment my parents are breathing a sigh of relief)
So I took a bus from the UAP to one of the bigger cities called Parana. Here I was supposed to catch a bus from there to another bigger city just outside of the Chilean border called Mendoza with this guy (his name is David btw). HOwever when we finally looked at our tickets we realized that they were two different bus companies and that we actually wouldn´t be on the same bus (gasp!). I was going to be alone (double gasp). So we said our good-byes and boarded our different buses.
I got in my bus and was so happy to find out that I was in the very front of the very top of the double decker bus. So I had more leg space and a great view of where we were going. A cute old lady sat across the isle from me and we talked for a bit. she thought I was brazilian (most people think I am. this is the 3rd person to say so) but than I set her straight and told her no that I was American (no lying even in other countries). Than I fell asleep (this part of the trip went throught the night so it was sleepy time)
I woke up about an hour and half later because the person who was to sit next to me came. So I moved my stuff let him sit and went back to sleep. A while later the bus attenedant came around and handed out food which was four different types of Ham and Cheese sandwiches. HOoray! SO I turned to him and was like "I´m vegetarian would you like my food?" and he was like "you are from the Villa aren´t you?" (La Villa is the city where the UAP is located) and I was like "yeah I am." and he was like "me too!" SO thus by the grace of God I had an Adventist student sat next to me on my trip, how amazing is that?!? We started talking and I found out that he is actually roomates with the boyfriend of one of the girls I knew at Union (complicated enough?) It is such a small Adventist world isn´t it?
I finally made it to Mendoza and met up with the other ACA guy and two other girls from the UAP and it turned out that we would all be together on this bus. We got on our bus and I was able to sit next to David who is also from Union (Slinga-da-ink!). It was a decent trip until we got to the Chilean border which took 3 hours to get through! My goodness it was long, but seeing the Andes and being able to go through them was soooooooo cool. My travel buddy David Carlson was so excited about it and kept taking pictures of the mountains, the only problem was they looked all the same. He would finish taking a picture and say ´ahh this looks the same as the las the last one, oooo look a mountain!´ and than proceed to take another picture. It was funny.
I made it to Santiago at 8:30 p.m. the next day (friday). Santiago is pretty cool looking very NorteAmericano (american) there are SUVs and PIzzahuts. It is very modern for south america and I love it.
My friend Camila and her dad picked me up from the bus terminal and we made our way to her home. They live in a suburb of Santiago and it is very much like the suburbs of America. NIce quiet and gated communities. We arrived at her house about 9:00 p.m. thus ending my long jouney (about 28 hours).
Her family is super sweet and there is a christmas tree and christmas lights on the house. I am super blessed to be able to spend christmas with a family even if it isn´t my own. I however miss my family very much so ´Yo family! I miss ya have a Merry Christmas!´
So I left at 4:40 p.m. on thursday from the UAP and was pretty excited. Really who wouldn´t be excited if they were going to Chile (now Uruguay is a different case)? So I left with another ACA student who was by coincidence also going to Chile on the same day. This was really good because my traveling buddy never showed (he was a native of Chile) so at least I wasn´t going to be alone. (at this moment my parents are breathing a sigh of relief)
So I took a bus from the UAP to one of the bigger cities called Parana. Here I was supposed to catch a bus from there to another bigger city just outside of the Chilean border called Mendoza with this guy (his name is David btw). HOwever when we finally looked at our tickets we realized that they were two different bus companies and that we actually wouldn´t be on the same bus (gasp!). I was going to be alone (double gasp). So we said our good-byes and boarded our different buses.
I got in my bus and was so happy to find out that I was in the very front of the very top of the double decker bus. So I had more leg space and a great view of where we were going. A cute old lady sat across the isle from me and we talked for a bit. she thought I was brazilian (most people think I am. this is the 3rd person to say so) but than I set her straight and told her no that I was American (no lying even in other countries). Than I fell asleep (this part of the trip went throught the night so it was sleepy time)
I woke up about an hour and half later because the person who was to sit next to me came. So I moved my stuff let him sit and went back to sleep. A while later the bus attenedant came around and handed out food which was four different types of Ham and Cheese sandwiches. HOoray! SO I turned to him and was like "I´m vegetarian would you like my food?" and he was like "you are from the Villa aren´t you?" (La Villa is the city where the UAP is located) and I was like "yeah I am." and he was like "me too!" SO thus by the grace of God I had an Adventist student sat next to me on my trip, how amazing is that?!? We started talking and I found out that he is actually roomates with the boyfriend of one of the girls I knew at Union (complicated enough?) It is such a small Adventist world isn´t it?
I finally made it to Mendoza and met up with the other ACA guy and two other girls from the UAP and it turned out that we would all be together on this bus. We got on our bus and I was able to sit next to David who is also from Union (Slinga-da-ink!). It was a decent trip until we got to the Chilean border which took 3 hours to get through! My goodness it was long, but seeing the Andes and being able to go through them was soooooooo cool. My travel buddy David Carlson was so excited about it and kept taking pictures of the mountains, the only problem was they looked all the same. He would finish taking a picture and say ´ahh this looks the same as the las the last one, oooo look a mountain!´ and than proceed to take another picture. It was funny.
I made it to Santiago at 8:30 p.m. the next day (friday). Santiago is pretty cool looking very NorteAmericano (american) there are SUVs and PIzzahuts. It is very modern for south america and I love it.
My friend Camila and her dad picked me up from the bus terminal and we made our way to her home. They live in a suburb of Santiago and it is very much like the suburbs of America. NIce quiet and gated communities. We arrived at her house about 9:00 p.m. thus ending my long jouney (about 28 hours).
Her family is super sweet and there is a christmas tree and christmas lights on the house. I am super blessed to be able to spend christmas with a family even if it isn´t my own. I however miss my family very much so ´Yo family! I miss ya have a Merry Christmas!´
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