Cachai?

Si, cachai. I think I am starting to talk a little bit more like a Chilean. and in my opinion, I've been making leaps and bounds of progress with the language. Still a long way to go, but when I think back to my first day here and how nervous I was (with good reason) I can confidently say progress has been made. I am currently reading a book in spanish and I'm actually understanding it and I am also really enjoying it! It's called Palomita Blanca written by Enrique Lafourcade, a Chilean author. The voice it's written from sounds exactly like a Chilean teenager talking. I think that's why I like it so much, it's very colloquial, easy for me to understand. Plus, I can't help but feel proud of the fact that I am halfway through a book in another language. I think that's pretty cool.

Tonight I went to see a play in San Fernando. Now I would be lying if I said I understood what was going on, because pretty much I had no idea. Well, I understood bits and pieces, and there were a few jokes that I laughed at because I actually got them. But, as plays are, it was very visual so it really didn't matter if you didn't understand the words. I was still able to somewhat follow the plot. And the costuming was really awesome. I don't feel so bad though because my cousin, who studied theater, told me that there were a lot of parts she didn't understand. She was maybe just saying that to make me feel better, but also, the actors spoke VERY fast.

Today I went to Rancagua to apply for a passport finally. I started thinking, what if something happened to someone in my family or something and I had to return to the US for an emergency, well I wouldn't be able to leave the country without a Chilean passport. So I finally went to take care of that and they told me it will be ready on Monday which is amazing to me! These things take 4-6 weeks in the states. How is it that it can be done so quickly here in Chile? I don't really know, but I'm glad. I think it's funny how confused the people who work in these offices are by me. I look Chilean, and then I open my mouth and have an accent, but then I have a carnet, but I say that I was born in the US. They are always like, oh ok you are from the US, but then oh wait, it says here on the computer you are Chilean too? I guess having dual citizenship isn't so common here. But I am always accepted as a Chilean, and that definitely feels good. No one ever says like, oh you weren't born here, you aren't a real Chilean. It's more like oh okay, your dad is American, your mom is Chilean, ok and you are Chilean too. The man I talked to in Rancagua today said I was as "chilean as porotos (beans)." If you are Chilean, this would make sense to you. It means that I am indeed Chilean, which really, by blood I am just as Chilean as I am American. What I'm trying to say is that I really feel accepted here, like I belong here too. And that's a nice feeling, I guess I wasn't really expecting that.