The bees here are gigantic! I'm not sure this picture does them justice really...They can barely fly they are so heavy and I think it affects their steering, which means that they just narrowly miss crashing into me when I'm strolling around town. Kind of scary.
I just got back from another satisfying meal at my friend Devin's house. We had a feast of mussels, salmon, french fries, homemade apple sauce, and coconut cookies. I don't know how his mom has the time or energy to make all that since she works part time as well. I came prepared this time brought some chocolates to give her. I realize that I've been over to Devin's house 4 days in a row now to see his family, so I hope that they're not sick of me yet...I always get an invitation back though and I leave in a very good mood. After lunch today Sophia, Devin and I watched "Life is Beautiful" with Devin's host brother Tomás at his house. I was there for almost five hours and didn't even realize it, and the whole time Devin's host brother was talking and hanging out with us, which is really fun because he's a cool guy. It's always nice when I can tell that Chileans honestly enjoy spending time with me and other gringos, and that it's not out of pity or obligation.

So, despite the fact that I have a lot of school work to do this weekend I can't seem to resist the urge to hang out with friends and end up getting home really late. Last night when I left Devin's house at midnight I thought I was on my way home to work on my paper and call it a night. But...then I got a call from my friend Milthon asking where I was and if I wanted to go hang out at someone's house for a while. So, to make a long story short, I got home at 5am...yeah so much for getting sleep or homework done. But, in retrospect I think it was totally worth it. It was at the same house where I watched the soccer match earlier this week and was again a lot of Chileans and me, and this time my gringa friend Renee which was a nice safety net. I can already tell that I'm more relaxed than I used to be and that my Spanish has gotten better when I'm in a big group of Chileans. One guy told me last night that I wasn't like other gringos because I really make an effort to try and talk like a Chileno and get to know the culture, which meant a lot to me. I am even starting to have some inside jokes with certain people. I can already see how I am going to miss them when I leave for Argentina in the summer. I think my ability to understand has gotten way better, and I don't really struggle at all when it comes to talking, but I'm aware that I make mistakes and sometimes I have to say things in really round about ways. But, I find that as long as I have a good attitude about my less than perfect communication, it doesn't affect my ability to enjoy myself. Plus, it's only going to get better as the year goes on.  I thoroughly enjoyed my weekend, and even if I have to stay up late tonight to finish my homework I think it was totally worth it.