Wizards, witches and muggles, oh my...

People are curious as to what I am doing with my free time while in Chile and I finally have an answer; reading Harry Potter. You would think, living with a younger brother would have been fuel enough to read the books, not to mention the fact that they are best sellers and incredibly popular, but no, I chose to move to Chile and read them here.
In honor of the last installment of Harry Potter due out in July, I figured it was about time to actually read the first six. In three weeks I had all six books read and here I am, desperately waiting the last and final book stranded with nothing to read. I had heard how well written these books were and I had even seen a few of the movies, but nothing compares to the books. Nothing compares to the image of Hogwarts and the fights between ´He who can´t be named´ and Harry Potter. To the opening banquets in the Great Hall, with the delicious food appearing and disappearing before their eyes. These books allowed me to escape to another world, a world of fantasy and magical creatures. A world where people fly around on brooms and send mail via owls. They allowed me to regress to my childhood and just read books for fun, not because I have a test after, not because I have to write a report, I was able to read just to read, which I have not done since high school. I had forgotten how much I enjoy reading. How I look forward to being curled up on the couch with a good book.
In Chile I have had a lot of down time. A lot of time to relax and enjoy just being. A lot of time to read, which has been such a great lesson in life. How often do we take the time to sit and read a good book? Or are we always too busy, going from one activity to the next? Or do we read for pleasure anymore? I had forgotten how enjoyable reading just to read was and all it took was a move to Chile and lots of spare time. Now that work has begun (work started in March), I have had less time to sit and read, but I make sure every night I read a least a few chapters of some book that I will enjoy.
I could go on and on about all six Harry Potter books, but really all I have to say is this: if you have not yet read the books, read them and if you have, party in July!

New Address!!

Okay, so it took forever to get this, but here it is, my NEW mailing address... use it, abuse it, you know, send me things! :-)

Associados de Santa Cruz
c/o Natalie Nathan
Casilla 8, Correo 59
Santiago, CHILE

Send mail here from now on!!

loves!

Knock, knock...

I have a new found respect for the Mormon missionaries. I never thought that I would say that, but here I am in Chile, saying the Mormons have it rough.
I recently (Jan 2-14th) went on a missions trip. My mind immediately went to knocking on doors and handing out Bibles or rather, Books of Mormon, but what we encountered was much different from my Mormon counterparts. First, I was not wearing the Mormon uniform of black pants, white shirt and tie, but a dirty UofP sweatshirt and jeans. Second, my trip lasted two weeks and not two years (thank goodness). Third, we handed out crumpled calendars (which all Chileans love, the calendar part, not the crumpled part) instead of a Bible. Lastly, when I got back to my house, I was able to access the internet and actually call my family, instead of relying on snail mail to communicate.
Our days started off as such: We would wake up early, which for the girls meant at least an hour of preparation, when mind you, we did not have showers or water, so I’m still confused as to what took so long and why we needed a wake-up call so early. Getting ready was followed by a sugar cereal fest for breakfast (try chocolate cereal and chocolate milk) and then morning prayer, which considering high school kids planned it, sometimes left me wanting, and other times left me ready to start the day. We would walk up hill, down the beach, around the river bend, and through potato fields to random people’s houses where, now this is where we differ from Mormons (at least to my knowledge) we were welcomed into their homes, fed and talked for at least an hour or so. We were even invited back for lunch on some days and on the good days, invited back for dinner. In the afternoons, we had activities for younger children (read giant paint fights) and then a mass for the entire community. After mass we would have activities for the high school kids and finally eat dinner and call it a night. Yet, these fun and games taught me nothing, but the time spent in people’s homes taught me everything.
In those hours of conversation spent with random strangers and a few high school students, I learned that some little girl in the campo was abused and then left for dead. Another lady was traveling back and forth from her home to the larger city of Castro for cancer treatments, leaving her son (17) in charge of the house and at times her daughter (8). Another man lived alone in a two room house, with his horse and two dogs. There was another older lady who lived alone as well, patiently waiting for her son to return from the military. And then there was a family of nine all living in the same house, with the most precious baby (Pia) whom I grew to love. This family was a mix of brothers and sisters, grandparents and grandchildren, yet they all lived together in harmony. They all worked hard in the fisheries and scrapped out a living. I could tell when I walked into their home, they weren’t lacking any of the basic necessities, yet it was not as if they were living in the Plaza Hotel. With that being said, they invited me into their home and fed me, no questions asked. They invited me into their home and treated me like a daughter. They gave what they had and they taught me a valuable lesson, which I also found in Matthew, “Give as freely as you have received.”
When I think of being a volunteer here in Chile, my mind often wanders. I ask myself if I have made the right choice and if what I am doing here actually matters, but what Miriam’s family has taught me, is a lesson that will last a lifetime. Treat people as you would like to be treated, treat people with respect even if they barely speak your language. Be patient, be kind, but most of all, be open to experiencing life and the random people that might walk through your door.

Mailing address...

Hey All.... just a quick update, our mailing address will be changing soon, so I would suggest not sending mail to the address that is both on this website and on my e-mail, when I know the correct address, ya´ll will be the first to know! adios for now!

but, you know you can all call me with Latin American calling cards, I´m usually around in the evenings and it´s super easy to call, just dial from the states like this,
011-56-2-278-5051 --- we all speak English in the house, so don´t worry about Spanish skills when trying to ask for me! :-) adios!

take care! natalie

January in Chile

So I realized that I haven´t exactly updated this whole blog thing in awhile, granted I have been busy and unable to, but still, I´m sure I have many adoring fans waiting on pins and needles to find out what and how I am doing.

First, let me start off with the how: I am doing great. The transition to Chile has been a challenge, a new accent to learn, a new city to get around, new people to live with, but truth be told, I feel very at home and very comfortable here in Chile. The people are so friendly and welcoming and man do they feed you to death, thank goodness I walk everywhere or I would be a big as a blimp.

Now the second part, the what: Well, since landing in Chile, it´s been go, go, go. We celebrated Christmas Eve at the house in Pocuro, went to midnight mass, had a fantastic dinner and then woke up early on Christmas day to go where else, camping. Who would have thought that camping would be so big down here on Christmas day, but hey I learned something new this year, not everyone celebrates Christmas in snowpants, some like here in Chile celebrate in swimsuits. After Christmas we had a few days to unwind before heading to missions with St. George, the famous Holy Cross high school in Santiago. We went to Chiloé and all I can say was, amazing. My group from the high school left me wanting but my experience talking to the people down South was worth it. (Just for reference, Chiloé is about a 20 hour bus ride down to Southern Chile, we saw sea lions, and some even saw penguins on their trip) We got back from missions on Jan 14 and left for Pocuro on the 17th for CEVA, which in basic terms in summer camp for the kids in the pueblo. We played in a tree-less field from 9-6, Monday thru Friday, with some visits from firemen, a visit to the pool and on Saturday a trip to Santiago. As one camper said, we out did ourselves, every kid enjoyed it and now that I have time to think about it, so did I. We stayed up in Pocuro to celebrate Ryan´s birthday and finally headed back to Santiago. It´s been a January that has flown by and now moving onto February, pretty soon it will be March and time to start working, until then I think I´m going to rest and enjoy the Santiago summer.

Looking back on the month of January, I realize that I have done a lot of things. Each one being a challenge, yet each one I have passed. While I was in Bolivia, I never would have thought that two months in Chile would pass by so quickly, but here I am. I have learned so much about myself, challenged myself and succeded. I have been given such an amazing opportunity to do something wonderful here in Chile and if the rest of my time here is anything like January, then life will good, a challenge, but good.

Estoy en Chile... I am in Chile

Well, it´s been awhile since Thanksgiving and I have some very exciting news, I am officially all moved in and loving the Chilean life. That´s right folks, I am in Santiago, living in Peñalolén, which is a neighborhood of the city. After an interesting begginning here in Chile, life has been pretty fantastic. So, this is a quick update letting everyone know that I am here, safe and really enjoying myself. Things can only get better from here.

One more quick note: I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas and will have a Happy New Year! Don´t do anything I wouldn´t do!

One last note: You can call Chile for much cheaper than Bolivia, buy a phone card (Latin America ones work) and give me a ring! Dial directly to the house in Santiago, though we answer in Spanish, we do speak English, just ask for Natalie. The number as you dial from the states is: 011-56-2-278-5051

I think that about sums it up, hope to talk to everyone soon. Loves!

Turkey Day

November 23rd, Thanksgiving, national holiday, a day to gorge ourselves on turkey, a day to watch the Macy´s Parade in the morning and football in the afternoon, a day to spend with family. This November 23rd was quite different. It is the first holiday that I have spent away from my family, the first holiday that I did not follow tradition and the first holiday where I think I truly learned the meaning of giving thanks.

I woke up on turkey day not to the parade but to rush to take a shower and head to class. This past week most of the North American students at school have worked on preparing a presentation about the true meaning of Thanksgiving; the origins (both good and bad), decorations and most importantly a feast for all to share. Turkey was carefully prepared, mashed potatoes and gravy, green-been casserole, corn on the cob, sweet potato casserole and stuffing were all set out. We shared our holiday with our Bolivian teachers who had never eaten stuffing or green-been casserole and kept asking for the recipes. Overall I enjoyed the experience of presenting something new to a culture that has been sharing itself so willingly with me. We cleaned up the mess from the feast and Thanksgiving at the Institute was over. Yet the day had only just begun.

Next was a stop in the post office, which unlike in the states was open, as was everything else, since Thanksgiving is not exactly a Bolivian holiday. It was an interesting experience to walk around to all of the shops here, knowing that they would all be closed back home. A few of us stopped for a bottle of wine on the Prado, the main drag of Cochabamba, complete with wonderful cafes and eateries. We sat and enjoyed the over-priced bottle of wine and talked about our presentation, which we agreed went really well. We soon realized it was time for dance class, so we quickly headed back to school to prepare for the end of the year talent show. Two hours later and many frustrations danced out, it was onto the next activity, a conference for missioners in Latin American countries. To be honest I only went because of the promise of free pizza after, but what I learned and the people I met were well worth the time spent. I was surprised by the variety of Latin-Americans working in mission all throughout Bolivia, Peru, Chile and Argentina. I typically assume it is North Americans who travel to work in other countries, not people from Latin-America to work here as well. I even met a Chilean, who true to form, showed more pride in her `tierra` or land than anyone I have ever encountered. She made me excited to be headed to Chile with people who love their country and who take pride in where they come from. Finally, after a long day, I headed back to my host family and my Bolivian house.

At home I sat and reflected on the day that I had just had. It was so busy I hardly felt that I was missing out on being at home, while at the same time really wishing that I was eating my mom’s perfectly cooked turkey and stuffing. But, while I was wishing that I was gorging myself on her turkey, I realized more than ever before how much I have to be thankful for. I am so incredibly grateful for everything I have: the family who loves me more than anything, the friends who support me in my crazy adventure to South America, my community members here who let me cry when I was sad, the food I have to eat, the clothes on my back, the shoes on my feet, the comfortable house which I call home, my college education, my faith, my life, my experience in Bolivia and soon my experience in Chile, everything. I lack nothing. So, on this Thanksgiving I learned such a valuable lesson that, although it was different and difficult, I would never trade to be back at home because when I do go back home, I will never again take for granted waking up to Katie Couric commenting on the wonderful marching band in the Macy´s parade and I will never again take for granted a home cooked meal and never will I forget this Bolivian Thanksgiving, for this is the true meaning of a holiday, coming together, sharing and just being.