You're the other half of my orange

Graffiti, a well respected art form in Valparaiso

I'm not going to lie, on Monday morning I woke up in a bit of a rut. I didn't feel like speaking Spanish and I was tired and ready to have some routine in my life. After three months away from America already I was missing it dearly. I spent too much time speaking with friends in English over the weekend and I was dreading any lengthy conversations with family members. They are sooo difficult to understand sometimes, in large part because of their Chilean tendency to drop s's and d's and add -ito to everything, in addition to using a variety of vocabulary words referred to as "chilensimos"...the Chilean's own extensive vocabulary for everyday situations and things. Rather than being excited to speak more and learn more, I was just feeling frustrated and annoyed that I was struggling so much. The day turned out okay, but I went to bed last night feeling like I had avoided social time with my Chilean family, which is not what I am here to do.

So, this morning when the family all woke up early to make breakfast for my host dad's 50th birthday, I joined in. I peeled apples in the kitchen for fresh apple juice as we all stood around in our pajamas and my host sister made cheese paninis. I learned that this is a family tradition for all birthdays. We carried breakfast for all upstairs on trays and sang Horacio Happy Birthday and then ate our sandwiches as we sat on the bed. I quickly returned to my room and went to sleep as everyone got ready for school and work (I start classes tomorrow), but nonetheless I felt like I was back on the participation track, and it felt right.

This evening we had "onces" (late snack/dinner that consists of bread with something on it such as cheese, avocados or jam with tea and sometimes pie) as a family with grandmothers and aunts in attendance too. I was able to follow a good bit of the conversation and even did my fair share of speaking with relatives. Afterwards, I accompanied my host mom Sandra to take my host aunt and cousin (also an international student) home. While we were driving along, various topics were brought up, including men, and my host cousin asked my aunt if a man was her "media naranja." I heard it and didn't think much about it at first because I'm accustomed to not understanding some words, but I soon turned around and said "Que??"(what?) as I realized what the literal translation was. "Media naranja" means half an orange, but when I asked what they meant by this they said "soul-mate." Of course! It made sense after I thought about it, and I had to smile about the latest addition to my random vocab. I think it was a turning point for me, a chance to appreciate what I'm learning here and stop wishing they used the actual vocab words I've learned over the years in Spanish class. So, I go to bed tonight with a renewed determination to soak this experience up. Who knows, maybe I'll even find the other half of my orange...