love is the best sensation hiding in the lions mane

ayayay. the past week has been a rollercoaster of a lot of things. ive been avoiding posting because i didnt want to say anything but how great everything is. but what kind of honest, heart-felt blog would that be? entonces, the first week wasnt sparkly and giddy at all. in fact, it was quite rough (the product of which was a return to the words of thich nhat hanh and meditation, all good things). being thrown into a group of americans who are supposed to automatically be your best friends is never easy. i dont do well with shallow interactions. i am ready to go! to live! i want to share everything i know and love. i want to know what your soul is made of. i have to remind myself, of course, that many people are very different from me. i also really dont like being in large groups of americans in a foreign city. we are loud, stand out, and its almost impossible to meet people.
my host family is kind but my parents are working almost all the time, and it was sort of overwhelming to be stranded in a foreign house, not supposed to go outside because its dangerous. and of course, there are many cultural differences. it sort of feels like I am a 12 year old in the eyes of my parents, so im intrigued to see how things will play out. buuuut, ive been figuring it out! of course things have gotten much more enjoyable.
today we went into the historic old part of town. on the trolley on the way there we went through a giant protest of union workers. all i wanted to do was jump out and chant with them, but for one its illegal for me to participate in protests here, and two i really have no right to engage in such an event. i also met some chilean backpackers on the bus…but i had to remind myself that i cant just go with them around south america, i am in school now! this is a different kind of trip ;)at least for now.
aight, well i need to get home or mi madre will be terribly worried.

beeesooos,
lala