it's been two and a half months!

Time is flying. It's October! Usually at this time of the year I'm so glad it's finally cooling off, and I'm just getting into the swing of classes, maybe having my first tests, going to football games and preparing for Longhorn Awakening (a retreat we put on every semester at UT). But here, its one week into October and I'm happy I can finally go outside (during the day) without a heavy coat. We've had several steady warm days (70s and 80s) full of sun - I even wore sandals twice! I'm a little past the halfway point in my classes, and am watching from the outside while my friends get ready for our big retreat and go in a caravan to UT football games!
Kristina and I watched the big OU vs UT game today actually. Instead of being at the game though, we watched it broadcast live on-line on my computer, sitting on my bed in our house in Chile. But how amazing that we could watch it! And we yelled and screamed all the same (it was a really, really good game!). I'm actually impressed how much I can stay connected to everything back home. Skype makes calls super cheap, and I don't think I've ever appreciated facebook so much - it means alot more to see photos of things you can't go to and people you can't see.
With classes being a little more than half over, I have a pretty good grip on the expectations and the professors, not to mention the Spanish, so things are going well. I was pretty lost on campus when I first got here, and missed much more of what my professors said. My theology class and Thinkers of the 20th Century class are still my favorites. My theology professor is a Jesuit deacon, who has infinite patience to answer our questions and illustrate ideas. He gestures with his hands alot, and often puts his hand to the side of nose just like St.Nick does in that old story. He also has a knack for taking the most nebulous terms or arguments and clarifying them rationally and carefully (which is especialy great if I get lost in the Spanish theology terms). My Thinkers of the 20th Century professor continues to be engaging and hilarious. Mark and I actually went with him and the class on a trip to Valparaiso a few weekends ago. It's the same place we'd gone a week before, but this time we got a great tour of the old parts of the city and had fun with our class. Our professor knew tons of great quirky stories about the town, and the guide he brought along was good too. One of our friends from class pointed out this sign in a window of a little house as we passed:
How funny!! They do talk about Obama much more than McCain here. It adds another element to watch the campaigns and debate from here...they run some programs on television, but I mostly keep up with everything online. But stranger than voting from over here will be coming home to our country being governed by a new President. I remember Clinton, but that was in middle school for me, so I didn't really know what was going on or understand anything.



My friends and were talking about what we missed, and what we think we'll miss when we go back home. Among the things we missed were Mexican food, our favorite Austin restaurants/coffee houses, summer in general, swimming at Barton Springs, pancakes...among other silly things. What we will miss: avocado, empanadas, alfajores, the bread from the bakeries here, really good fruit, sushi (its really good here, and cheaper)...among other silly things!
But missing things really does teach you to love them more...I miss mass in English, and hugging the people I love. The thing I miss most constantly is friends and family back home. But today was really nice...Kristina and I spent more time with our host mother than we usually do (she's usually out and so are we), and we had a lovely evening. It was really simple, she just took us to the grocery store and we made an easy supper and rented a movie. She liked the rice and veggies we made, and was happy we invited her to watch the movie. But I felt like we were more of a little family, an odd and temporary one for sure (a widow who misses her grown sons is given three new girls who're forgein and homeless...haha what a match) but cozy all the same. We definitely see many things very differently...but we can talk about them mostly, so it only makes living here more interesting. I'm glad we still have a while before we have to start missing her!
And on the subject of parents and missing people, I have some exciting news!!! My parents are coming to Chile! Ma Teresa and I were already talking about what yummy Chilean foods I wanted them to try, and I've been asking around for ideas on places to visit while they're here. That is going to be amazing. I'll get to share with them all the things I love about this place, and we'll explore a little more that I haven't seen yet too. I can't wait!