Mi Cumpleaños!

Well, I'm 22 now. This was the second time I celebrated my birthday here in Chile. it was great!! I had a party here at my house. Many of my co-workers and friends came- so much fun! We played some drinking games, drank (probably too much), ate some cake, etc.
Here are some pictures!

 I got sung to in English and Spanish :)

You bet I made a wish! Now let's hope it comes true...

Apparently it's a tradition in Chile to put your face in the cake/take a bit of it after you blow out the candles. So needless to say, I did it..

mis mejores amigas

some of my co-workers!

a special someone :) who took many great pictures of the night!

 Birthday celebration part 2 was with Danielle and Max :) We had sushi, Danielle made a delicious cake and we watched a movie. Great time!

Danielle and the yummy sushi!

Me and the cake Danielle made me! :)

Thank you to all those who made my birthday one to remember! :) Here's to being 22!

Pichilemu and the beginning of July

Last weekend, some of the girls and I went to Pichilemu, Chile. Pichilemu is about 130 miles southwest of Santiago, right on the coast. The small town is known for surfing. Even though it is winter here now, there were still surfers out in the water while we were there. We arrived on Saturday evening, had dinner at a small typical restaurant and hung out. On Sunday, we explored the town and went to the beach. Pichilemu is absolutely gorgeous. You can see the mountains in the distance while you're on the beach. We left on Sunday afternoon. We didn't spend much time there, but I will definitely make another trip there in the future....maybe I'll even learn how to surf!

on the beach with Kortnee and Amy

with Kort, Mel, and a good view of the beach

view of part of the town

In other news, today is the 4th of July! I'm kind of bummed that I'm not at home to cook out and watch the fireworks, but those are the types of things I've given up to be here. I did get to celebrate a bit yesterday. Some friends and I went to a restaurant called "California Cantina." The restaurant is owned by two gringos and it serves typical American food....cheeseburgers, fries, nachos, etc. Gringo?? That's a term used for foreigners....but mostly it refers to people from the United States (gringo is for a male, gringa is for a girl). They have events there for all the major "American" holidays like St. Patrick's Day, Cinco de Mayo, etc. Yesterday, they had a baseball game on the TV....it was weird seeing the commercials from home. I had a cheeseburger and some beer, so it was nice to do something and have some gringo food. Today I ate some more gringo food and I think I'll rock out to Bruce Springstein's ¨Born in the USA¨.....or some Miley Cyrus's ¨Party in the USA¨ and watch some fireworks on YouTube. Just kidding...


Today also marks the beginning of vacaction! Last Friday was the last day of classes for my students. They took their final exam on Saturday or today. I have everything graded, so I'm officially on vacation! Woohoo! Classes start again on August 8th, so I have almost a month free. Plans include going to the North of Chile, exploring Santiago a bit more, relaxing, drinking, and maybe a couple short trips to surrounding areas. Oh! and celebrating my birthday :)