Thank god for abanicos

It is so hot. All the time.

Which is funny, because just a week ago I emailed a friend from Costa Rica about how proud I was that I was already acclimated to the heat. HA.

Our host family took off on Saturday for Ocu for Carnavales (the step-dad lives there), and left us in Santiago. I think this would've been a bit of a problem for me had I been alone, but thankfully Shellie is still living here with me, so we could commiserate about being after thoughts together. Yesterday, we had our first day since we got here of not doing ANYTHING. We ate. Shellie cooked. I think I tried to watch a movie. I slept a lot. It was wonderful, aside from the fact that 97 degrees of heat is recipe for death.

Today, we're back at the Leonardo's pizza place, eating $4 12" pizzas, using their air conditioning and internet. Tomorrow orientation starts again for two final days, and then next Monday school starts. The tv is filled with Back to School ads, and it's crazy to think all of the kids will be coming off of summer vacation and I will be starting at the school on the same day. I'm really going to be here for a full year.

Our host family has the cutest little dog named Spartacus (es-spart-e-cous! is how he's called here) who has been in pain from the heat with us these past days. The first day the family was gone we couldnt find his food and he was so hungry so we fed him our rice. I hope dogs arent allergic to rice! We later found his food, and he's been much happier since. But we often find him in the shower, trying to cool down on the bathroom tile.

Spartacus and me in the shower.

Friday is our last day of practice teaching, and we're throwing a big party for our students. I'm also planning a Jeopardy review game which should be interesting. I think I've had to make Jeopardy games for at LEAST the last two jobs I've held, so we'll see if the practice has paid off. We have our last Spanish class tomorrow and we say goodbye to the folks teaching in other towns (Shellie, included!) Friday night. Should be a whirlwind couple of days. I think my experience here will really change when Shellie moves on to David. It's been so nice to have someone to explore with and get acclimated with. But I know that becoming a little more independent will be good for me, and I'm hoping that once I get into the school community I'll meet more people.

I miss you all a lot! It turns out our host family (in addition to abandoning us routinely... this is a joke mom! we're fine) has also been hiding something from us. What is it, you ask?? WIRELESS INTERNET. We found the modem and router while they were gone. I sent a text about a password with no response, but once they coming home we will be interrogating, and (fingers crossed) this communication thing will be a little easier!

I've also realized I havent taken many pictures, so I'm going to get better at that too.

Love you all much! Sorry that I haven't been able to respond to emails very well. Leave comments here so I know you're reading.

Hope all is well in each of your respective parts of the world : )

Abrazos