Yep, MORE photos

These ones are of random dates throughout this month (including SUPER attractive shots of me in the hospital).

Even more photos

More Fiestas Patrias photos because I am dumb and couldn't figure out how to merge the albums.

Some photos from the last few weeks

First album from Fiestas Patrias. More to follow.

Literally the longest update ever

Wow, I suppose it has been awhile since I last updated. Things get busier with every passing day here. I love having things to do all the time, but unfortunately, it leaves less free time for blogging. School has actually started to pick up in the last few days as well. I just got my first assignment back for my Grandes Autores class, and I have two group projects due next week. In addition to that, I have two different exams coming up in October, so that should be a lot of fun. I would love it if school would just disappear, so I could continue my life in Chile free of stress. But alas, this is STUDY abroad, so I guess I have to go to school. I learn so much about Spanish and the Chilean culture outside of my classes though that the lectures we get in class are almost kind of useless. Oh well.

Anyway, a lot has happened since my last post. I suppose I should start by saying that I am back to life as normal. I was released from the hospital on the same day as my last post and proceeded to take the most amazing shower of my life and generally enjoy being able to walk around without assistance. That weekend I wasn’t allowed to leave my apartment without supervision, but my friends, Nona and Katie as well as my friend, Gonzalo all came to visit. And Max came over as soon as the barbeque was done on Saturday and kept me company since I couldn’t go out at all. Max and I also took a walk together on Sunday, where we visited the sight where I got hit (to my knowledge, my blood is STILL on the ground) and then walked to Pedro de Valdivia and had some delicious afternoon pizza. Can’t beat good conversation and two-for-one pizza happy hours. It was a nice day, the weather was great, and I enjoyed experiencing a small amount of freedom. I’m not going to lie, I was super glad that my host mom trusted Max enough to let him walk with me, but I think by then he had definitely proven himself.

That Monday I went back to class as normal. Only one class on Monday isn’t bad and helped me ease back into things. One of the weirdest things about going back to class is that none of my professors had any idea what happened, but everyone in my exchange group did. So basically I was getting a million questions from my peers and being relatively ignored by the adults. I mostly smiled a lot and assured everyone I was fine despite the fact that I can’t exercise and am at risk for seizures. However, I liked returning to some sort of a routine. Plus Monday was amazing because Jo came to town, and she, Max, and I went and got gringo food at a restaurant kind of near my house and it was spectacular. Mmmm burgers and nachos. That Tuesday, Jo, Max, another friend of mine, Chloe, and two other girls from Jo’s group went to a bar in Santiago to socialize since Chloe and one of the girls in Jo’s program had family friends in common but had never met. It was fun, even though of course, I was quite sober. They joys of not being allowed to drink on my medication. I did encourage Jo and her friends to get the infamous terremoto though. Pictures to follow. It was a really fun night, and by the end, Jo had convinced Max to come with me to Vina for Fiestas Patrias. One of the other gringas in her building happened to have an open room because her host cousin was spending the weekend in Santiago, so it ended up working out amazingly.

Wednesday was spent watching cueca demonstrations, chatting, and eating choripans and mote con huesillo with my tandem partner, and then followed by an adventure back to the hospital with Max to get my stitches out. Plus some ticket buying and other things that make me smile mixed in there as well. Thursday Max and I were going to go pass a soccer ball around (just passing due to my no exercise restrictions), but we were unexpectedly joined by four other guys. They all ended up wanting to play a pick up soccer game. I got to play on the conditions that no one actually attacked me and that I didn’t move at more than a speed walk. I must say, it was a lot of fun. It was nice to stretch my legs a bit (even if it was just passing and very light jogging), and Max, Felipe, and my team won 3-0. Probably because I was such an intimidating force back on defense. Haha. But seriously, it’s strategically beneficial to have a player on your team that everyone is afraid to go near.

Friday, I also got a chance to catch up with Nona, Brita, and Katie (Tess was out of town traveling with her host family for the week) over delicious Indian food. It was a good time (as always), and the food was a definite bonus. Not sure if having a well-priced Indian restaurant near my house is a gift or a curse. To be announced.

That night, a newly-pololo’d Max and I met up with our fellow groupmates, Zoe and Elliot to go to a fonda in Nunoa. A fonda is basically a county fair with sketchier rides and no animals. There were a lot of choripans, anticuchos, mote con huesillo, chicha (none for me obviously), churros, and chocolate covered fruits for sale as well as carnival games, cueca demonstrations, and shiny fair rides. Max prohibited me from going on any rides due to the possibility of seizures. However, the fonda was still fun. Zoe and I got to watch Max and Elliot almost die on one of the rides (yes, fair rides are even MORE hazardous than they are in the states), and I ate delicious choripan and chocolate fruits. Not being able to open my jaw all the way was annoying (even though I had gotten my stitches out on Wednesday and my bruises are almost all gone, my jaw is still sore where my injuries are), but on the whole, it was a nice ”eight-grade-double-date” as Zoe called it. After the fonda was over, I went out to the bars with the boys, but Max was careful to make sure that no alcohol made it into my system. I pretty much just sat there and looked pretty and envied Pepe’s beautiful Piña Colada and Max drinking my favorite beer. On the whole, it was a great Friday. However, it was only a taste of the weekend to come.

FIESTAS PATRIAS IN VINA!!!! Yep, that happened. Max and I got up bright and early to take a 10:20 am bus from Santiago to Vina del Mar. We arrived in Vina at around 12:30 beyond tired but somehow still ready for the weekend and were greeted at the bus station by our lovely host, Joface. The day that ensued included lunch at a delicious empanada place (cheese for Jo, cheese, chicken and mushroom for me, and cheese and a billion meats for Max), a couple hours lying on the beach and playing in the water (okay, I’m the only one who played in the water but still, I saw a sea lion!), and then finally going home, eating dinner, and getting ready for a fiesta at Jo’s neighbor and Max’s host, Emily’s apartment.

The fiesta was quite entertaining to say the least. Unfortunately, my seizure meds make me look glazed over in all of the pictures, but I liked having the opportunity to hang out with Jo, Emily, and Anna again, and my Chilean friend from Santiago, Gonzalo stopped by as well with his friend, Mariela. Nothing quite like a rowdy night with friends when the host mom is knocked out by her sleeping pill. Haha. I elected to not go out dancing, but apparently the club was pretty dead. Perfect for Jo and the rest of the adventurous people to get their dance on without being hindered.

The next “morning” (it was more like afternoon) we woke up late and ate a leisurely breakfast. After breakfast, we headed over to my friend from high school, Maddie’s house for a barbeque since it was finally Independence Day! The barbeque consisted of us four gringos, Maddie’s host parents and some of their Chilean friends. Upon arrival we were offered chicha while we sat around listening to Cumbia music. I declined for obvious reasons, but Max, Jo, and Maddie all tried it. Maddie really liked it, Jo not at all, and Max was somewhere in between. After that, we were offered black olives, peanuts, crackers and lamb cheese, bread and guacamole, and finally choripans while we socialized with a couple of the guests-- a lawyer and his girlfriend. After so much food, I thought we were done, and I was happily full. However, it turns out that those were just the appetizers. We then sat down to a giant dinner with three different types of meat, three salads, more bread, potatoes and probably more things that I have now forgotten. Needless to say, I almost laughed when they tried to ask me if I wanted more food. I mean, it was delicious but more than any person could possibly eat without feeling like they were going to explode. After dinner and dessert, Maddie’s host dad was good and drunk (we had been at her house for over three hours by this point), so he kept pushing us to dance Cumbia and Cueca with him. I tried to explain that I couldn’t, but he wasn’t having any of it. Thus I felt really awkward as I sat on the sidelines while everyone else danced “Cumbia”. It was pretty entertaining though, and I took lots of pictures. Finally I was coaxed into standing up, and I danced a bit with everyone. Apparently Max is quite talented at Cumbia according to Maddie’s host dad. Hahaha. Anyway, when it was time for us to dance cueca, Jo insisted that we leave because she couldn’t handle it. So we awkwardly peaced out and headed back to Jo’s house to kick back and watch the Emmys. It ended up being a really chill night even though I was up until 5 am. Oops. Don’t tell my doctor.

The next day was Monday, and since Max and I had to leave at four we played it pretty cool though we did take a nice walk to the beach. The weather was beautiful, and I loved every minute of it. Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end, and we said goodbye to Jo and Vina and took the bus back to Santiago.

This week was pretty tame as I have been swamped with work (once again, hooray for two group projects), but Max and I did go on our first date on Wednesday. I find it kind of hilarious because by that point we had already spent three straight days together in the hospital, had been to numerous different restaurants together, AND went on a trip together but whatever. Max brought me lilies, which were super pretty (even though he had no clue what type of flowers they were), and he and I both dressed up (I actually broke out a dress for the first time here). We went to this really cute restaurant near my apartment, where I had octopus salad, Max had chicken, and we split an appetizer. It was an excellent “first date” and afterwards, I changed and then we went out to a club with some friends, who all ooo’d and ahhhh’d at how pretty Max looked. He wore black socks. I think I’ll keep him. Anyway, I couldn’t dance very much (seizures ruin everything), but it was still a fun night, and Max and I enjoyed some serious people watching.

Other than that, I had lunch with the girls again today, and I am headed to another futbol game with friends tomorrow. I am seriously looking forward to all of this school stress being over on Wednesday, so I can get down to some serious trip planning. I think Max and I may go to Patagonia in December and the girls and I are planning a trip to Copiapo in the beginning of November. That along with going to Puerto Montt with my family makes for a busy Caryn. But it’s okay. I love traveling, so I am excited to see where the next few months take me. I hope you all enjoyed this super long update, and I want to reiterate that I am feeling just fine. Happy and healthy as ever. I would say even more so than usual.

Oh la pena pasó, sigue bailando, y yo seguiré cantandote

I was going to write a blog entry on Wednesday about my trip to Vina del Mar and how I loved seeing Jo, walking along the beach, eating ice cream and Pizza Hut, and dancing the night away, but as you all may or may not know, I got hit by a car on Wednesday night. I promise everyone that I am fine now, and in spite of getting dirtier every day (I haven’t been able to shower since Tuesday night UGH UGH UGH UGH UGH), I really do look and feel better all the time. The nurses are shocked when I practically hop out of bed when it is time to walk. It could have been so much worse, and I thank God for that. I mean, I didn’t even break any bones. How lame of a story is that? Not that I am wishing for it, but it just makes me smile. I’ve been off intravenous pain killers for the last 20 hours, and I have been doing fine, so hopefully after my final scanner sometime soon I will be able to leave. I’m ready to wear normal clothes and shower again. Seriously. My neurologist told me that I can’t drink, go out past 1 am (debatable, he only requested that I get 6 hours of sleep a night), or exercise more strenuously than walking for the next three to four weeks to prevent me from having a seizure. Stupid bleeding on the surface of my brain. I was very disappointed about everything at first since drinking chicha and pisco sours in the streets are some of the highlights of Fiestas Patrias (Independence day) which happens on next week, but my friend, Felipe promised me that we would have a separate Fiestas Patrias for me when I am allowed to party again. It made me happy.

Speaking of which, everyone has been really supportive through all of this. The directors of my program and my host mom are in and out everyday, and the director of Latin American CIEE is actually in town right now, so he has been visiting me as well. Really nice guy. Beyond that my best friend here, Max, has been chilling with me in the hospital for hours at a time since day one. Yesterday he was here for twelve hours. I owe him so much for all the support and help he has given me. Words really cannot describe. Plus, yesterday Nona, Tess, Katie, and Brita came to visit, and they brought me the sweetest care package, which definitely made me smile. I loved seeing them and having girl talk in English! And Felipe was here in the afternoon, which was great as well. Not to mention, all of the kind words I have gotten via facebook. However, I have been trying to keep visitors to a minimum since I look like a mess, and it can be sort of tiring. The other thing that is tiring, but very helpful, is speaking in Spanish all the time. I talk to my nurses, doctors, and program directors all in Spanish. The nice thing is that everyone I come into contact with tells me that my Spanish is really good. Who knew that being in the hospital could be such a confidence booster? Plus, watching TV all the time has exposed me to a lot of reggaeton music videos, so I have been expanding my music library for when I get a new iPod (wah wah getting destroyed by the car). Other than that, I am being checked by nurses a lot (though not so much now that I am no longer hooked up to anything or in intermediate care) and am trying to avoid having panic attacks when I get stuck with needles (it happens a fair amount, I currently have two IVs still in my arm, just in case). I get lots of nameless drugs, though I think they are all pain killers and stuff for my stomach, and I get fed quite well here on top of all the snacks my friends have been bringing me.

In case any of you haven’t heard the whole story of how I got hit, I will post it here. I still have the image of seeing the car coming at me burned in my mind, though like I said, it could have been much worse.

“I was running Wednesday, and towards the very end of my run I waited for the green walk light to cross the street, but I guess the cars must have only had a yield there because one hit me. The next thing I remember I was on the sidewalk bleeding and sobbing from the shock. There were droplets of blood all over the sidewalk and in my hands, and I could feel that my face was covered in blood plus my whole left side was in pain. Two women stopped to help me but they were mainly arguing amongst themselves about what to do. Then all of a sudden there was an older man there talking to them as well who was apparently the driver that hit me. A young guy, who appeared to be in his twenties, wandered over to me, and started talking directly to me. He started using kleenex to wipe the blood off my face and asking me where I lived. I was totally hysterical, but I managed to respond in Spanish. He decided that if I was okay to walk, we would walk to the car of the guy who hit me and from there we would stop at my apartment to alert my host mom (we were less than a block from my apartment when I got hit) then go to the hospital. I agreed to this since I had no clue what to do and he was so sweet and seemed to know what he was doing. So we got in the car (yeah,the guy who hit me drove me), and he drove slowly to my house with me sobbing and shaking hysterically the whole time and the young guy (named Cristobal) trying to calm me down and clean me off. He gave me the jacket of the driver and assisted me into the building. From there we met up with my host mom (who flipped out) and all of us went up to the apartment to call my program director. Cristobal made me sit inclined on the couch to slow the bleeding (turns out he studies Engineering), and he tried to continue to clean stuff off while I sobbed more. This is also when I noticed that my iPod was shattered. Finally we got ahold of my program director, Patricio and we all (the driver, mom, Cristobal, and I) headed off to the hospital. On the way to the hospital, Cristobal asked me for my number, and I got his. He kept trying to get me to smile. I also texted Max because I was flipping out and wanted to let a friend know what was going on. When my program director saw me his jaw dropped and he started talking really fast to get me in. He also talked to Max who called him to find out where I was. My host mom talked to Cristobal and found out that he lives in the building next to me and that he is 22 years old. Seriously, it was like something out of the movies. But he had to leave while I was in my room, so that was super sad (I still haven’t heard from him, but I plan to go to his apartment and leave him an expensive bottle of wine). Anyway, the nurses started cleaning me up while Patricio filled out my forms. They also stuck me with a bunch of needles, which made me even more hysterical. Then there were tests: first, X-rays. The technician was really nice to me, he told me I was really pretty and that I should ask out my hero and go out with him and his girlfriend sometime. Haha. Anyway, on the way back from that a little kid in a wheelchair saw me in my bed and gave me the peace sign. Awesome. Then I got some time to call my mom (who didn’t answer her cell), talk to Max (who had just arrived), and talk to Patricio (who had just finished giving a statement to the police). Then it was time for round two: scanners. This lady was not as nice but her assistant had a tongue ring, which I found hilarious. It was also a more difficult exam with more parts and more sitting still. I then returned to my room to give the police my statement. Turns out that because of my injuries they detained the guy over night at the station, and I will have to go in to talk to the police again in a couple of weeks. Anyway, then I finally headed in to get stitches for my head, which is the only place that I had deep cuts (my knee is badly scraped, and my hip and elbow are badly bruised, but nothing more serious). I kind of panicked at the idea of stitches, and the anithesia really hurt going in. I think my doctor kind of hated me, but he said that I had many little stitches so I won’t have a scar later. Finally upon my return to the room, my results were in and they told me that I would have to stay overnight since there was a small amount of bleeding on the surface of my brain, not serious but worth monitoring. Therefore, I called my mom to let her know what was up then headed to my new room with a nice bed and TV. By this point it was 2 am, I entered the hospital at 8 pm, and Max and Patricio finally headed home, and I attempted (though failed) to go to sleep.”

Anyway, like I said, I can’t wait to go home, shower, buy a new iPod, see my friends, bring a bottle of wine to Cristobal, and continue living my life. Jo gets in to Santiago on Monday, so I definitely plan to see her. It’ll be nice to be around someone who is basically like family. Thanks again to everyone for your support, and it means more to me than anything.

One more thing, Reese Witherspoon and I got hit by a car on the same day, both of us while running. I think it is a crazy coincidence. I am tempted to send her a letter, and tell her that I feel her pain. Though I guess, she is already back at home. Lucky. 

A little out of order

Here are my pictures from Iquique, so you have some idea about what I am talking about.

Reunited and it feels so good

Pictures from my visit to Viña this weekend!