Living as a Trotamundos

Let me start by reminding you all that I am from Arizona. Landlocked, closest ocean is eight hours away, Arizona. And then to top it off I am not really a fan of sea food, I never have been I think it's a textural thing but anyways...here we go. So yesterday my host mom was in a rush and asked if I could help her out by cooking for her. I told her yes and not to worry about it. As she was running out the door she then told me quickly to cook it (there was a bag of 'it' in the sink) in a pot with a little bit of garlic, salt, and celery in a pot and then to make sure it was covered with water. I told her that I got it handled and it wasn't a problem. I thought I was just going to be boiling some chicken or something. It was not chicken. I cut up some celery and garlic, sautéed it real quickly and then went over to the bag so I could put, again what I thought was chicken in the pot. I opened up the bag and there were CRABS. There were five living and moving crabs! At ...

I grew up in Flagstaff, Arizona. There is a population of about 70,000 people nestled in a mountain town at 7,000 feet. You can drive across Flagstaff in 20 minutes and the bus will go almost anywhere you need to go. I grew up with the forest at my convenience, the mountains as my playground. And now I'm in Concepción, Chile with a population of a little over one million. Adapting to big city living hasn't been the easiest for me at all, but one thing that is AMAZING about Chile is that not to far away you can always find a beautiful view. I went to Las Termas de Chillan not to long ago and was able to find a little bit of relaxation and home. In the snow and the mountains surrounded by trees I felt my heart sigh with relief and comfort. In Chillan there are natural hot springs captured into pools for the public to enjoy but I was mesmerized by the views. Chillan is about two hours away from Concepción and it was a much needed get away. I can constantly hear the sounds ...

July 31st, the day school started in Chile...or that is kind of started. School here in Chile is of a whole different breed than what I, or I imagine anyone outside the boarders of Chile is used to. If the university systems in the United States and Chile were dog breeds, the U.S. would be a golden retriever puppy (Full of energy and in the teething process) and Chile would be a confused box turtle that didn't know which way to go. And yes I realize that a box turtle is not a dog, but from my experience the Chilean university system moves at about the pace of one. And that's not to say that I don't like the university system here, it's just different and something that I had to adapt too. I am only taking four classes while I am studying in Chile, I'm taking it easy and hey give me a break all of classes are taught in Spanish which terrified me. I have been in school for a month now and of my four classes I had one that started in the first week of school (I th...