The rest of my family's vacation was very relaxing. We came back from Pucón on Saturday and spent the rest of the day at Parque Arauco - my favorite Chilean guilty pleasure. Parque Arauco is hands down the nicest mall I've ever seen... and even has a decent amount of outdoor stores and restaurants. We debated seeing a movie, but there was really none that we were dying to see... and sometimes the Spanish translation of movie titles can be difficult to decipher.
Most of the movies here are subtitled, but the kids movies are usually dubbed (can't read). Americans tend to complain that they don't want to read their movie, they want to watch it - and yet many countries in the world watch the majority of their movies through subtitles.
Considering the amount of gelato stores in the mall, it would have been ridiculous not to try some ;). I was adamant about eating the gelato outside so it would be cool and relaxing. In actuality, we ended up waiting about 45 minutes to an hour to get our ice cream. And it was NOT relaxing. Through my eyes, Chileans are pushy and at times rude. They want to get their thing and get it done before anything else. The waiter did not come up to us so we could order (in Chile you just sit down in a restaurant and wait until a waiter comes up to you - no such thing as being "seated")... so we figured to actually go up to the counter and order. First we had to figure out how the whole system worked, and then fight through a crowd of people to even be able to get our ice cream after we paid. My dad has his ideas about how it could have been run better - but sometimes I think the guy forgets that not everything runs like the States and Chileans are used to waiting more, taking more time for stuff (although I'm pretty sure they don't like it anymore than anyone else). I feel like in an American store, the employees would be stressing out if they had as many people come in and as much commotion, but in Chile they take it in stride, like it happens every day (and it probably does).
The same problem with the photocopy place at school... not one of my fav-or-ite things. They don't use "lines" per say, but more like the most vocal and most pushy are served first. I could be waiting right at the front, knowing the employees have seen me, and still go to help someone else. One time I was waiting for 15 minutes right at the counter for someone to serve me when one of the workers said, "Who's next?" - and this Chilean swooped in out of nowhere and said, "Me!" Really? REALLY? It's a frustrating thing that happens in a lot of places... you really have to be assertive and grab employee's attention.
It's hard for the North American students to be assertive, however, because we are representatives of our country... we don't want people to think that Americans are rude and thinking they should be served first. I don't want to be served first - I just want to be served! Also, we are beginners with the language and always have to be careful to not do or say something that isn't appropriate.
The solution: wait, be patient, and when it's your turn - grab it.
The entry would not be complete without a completely random tangent... but anyway, I think my family enjoyed Parque Arauco overall (back me up on this one).
The next day, we had lunch at my Chilean family's house. All good times. And we obviously showed them our rafting video - did you even have to ask?
Lauren had to leave that night, unfortunately, so we cut it a tad short with the Liberman's. After being together all the time for an entire week, it was very hard to let Lauren go. Our family doesn't get a lot of opportunities to be together - all 5 of us - so when it happens, it's even that much harder to let it go.
On the plus side, we no longer had to stop for ice cream everywhere- and I say that with love, of course.
For the next week, we didn't do too much besides spend time together... and I suppose that's the important thing because that's all I remember (there's justification for ya). My Chilean family had wanted to throw me a surprise birthday party (my birthday is April 2nd) with my family and friends - but the surprise was blown because Hanne didn't know which friends to invite.
I love my Chilean family. Even Domingo.
Since my real family wanted to take my Chilean family and the girls I traveled with in February out to dinner, they concluded that this was an opportunity to kill two birds with one stone (if you will) and take everyone out to dinner. Ignacio was unable to go because he had to watch the kids, but Hanne was able to make it, along with some great friends I've met throughout these few months. Something different and exciting: I tried some of Hanne's octopus - and liked it. I actually had some last night too - never thought I'd ever try octopus. Like my mom said, "I never thought I'd ever go to CHILE in a million years!" Your welcome, mom ☺
I've also included some pictures of my real birthday...
So... it was time to say goodbye. There was a slight fiasco regarding suitcases (my family left two at the hotel!) but after many phone calls back and forth from my dad, to the hotel, and back again, we figured it out.
As I hope my family will attest to, it was a great vacation and I feel so lucky that my entire family was able to visit me for such a long time. Obviously, not everybody's family is able to come and visit them... so I feel that much more... blessed. Also, it was Adam's, Mom's, and Dad's first time out of the country (we all know Lauren the globetrotter!).
This reminds me... I was supposed to go on Skype two days ago. Sorry mom!
FINALLY, I've written about my family's vacation. A lot of things have happened since, so I'll do my best to write as concisely as possible - phew.
Thank you everyone that has kept up with me in Chile and takes time to read at least some of my blogs, enjoy my pictures... etc. I hope everyone is in good health and good spirits.
- Bethany
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