End of the Year and a hot Christmas

The year has come to a close at Casa Ursulina.  Each class celebrated together with a special little meal and secret santa activities, and we had the end-of-the-year party this past Wednesday.  Most of the classes performed little skits reflecting what they had done and learned in class over the past year.  I was in several acts: circle dance, reflection and art, yoga, and the girls' english class.  Lots of costume changes :)  The highlight of my outfits was what I wore for the english skit.  We did a runway-themed sketch and the girls dressed up as different fruits or different styles.  I got to be an emo man, which meant that I had to wear lots of black eyeliner, black nailpolish, black tight pants, and a black and red striped shirt.  Since I'm both poor and creative, I safety-pinned red ribbon to a black shirt to make my stripes.  My look was a big hit with the girls, who informed me that I should be emo all the time - I looked so "bakan" (cool)!.  

Last night we had a big goodbye party for Kristy and Caryn, and the rest of the weekend/beginning of next week will be dedicated to more goodbye parties and gatherings.  They really have made such an impact here, and will be missed by all.

When Kristy and Caryn go to Santiago on Wednesday, Andrea and I will accompany them.  We'll be in Santiago until the 20th, and then head to Vina del Mar and Valparaiso for a few days.  Then it's back to Santiago, where we plan to celebrate Christmas with some volunteers who live there.  If all goes well, we'll spend the following weekend at the beach!  

It's SOOO freaking hot here in the afternoon, which makes it hard to remember that Christmas is on the way.  I put up and decorated the tree yesterday, though, and we've been blasting Christmas music pretty much constantly, so it's starting to sink in a little.

Now get ready to be jealous of me and my fabulous life:

On January 17, Andrea and I will be getting on a cruise ship to Laguna San Rafael to see GLACIERS!  We'll be spending a week on land in the Aysen region exploring national parks and seeing more GLACIERS, and then going to the island of Chiloe to see PENGUINS.  It's going to be a little expensive, but I figure it's worth it to see glaciers while they still exist on this magnificent planet that is being terribly destroyed.

Recently we went on a really fantastic retreat about water, but I'm going to write about that in a different blog since there is just so much to say about it.  

I'll be home in Chicago from Feb. 19-27, and I'm looking forward to seeing all of your smiling and freezing faces.  

Anyways, just wanted to let you know what I'll be up to... don't know what my internet access will be like over the next couple of months.  But I wish you all the best as you play in the snow and brave the malls!