I finally went to the beach today! Needless to say it was quite relaxing, lying in the sand, climbing around in the rocks and things of that nature. In the summer time the beach is filled to the brim with people apparently, so it was nice to come now before the word gets out. I was looking out on the horizon and trying to figure out if I was looking in the direction of Australia or not...On the bus ride home my friend Milthon (Chilean) asked my friend Sophia (Gringa) how many classes she was taking and she responded, "19" because she thought he was asking how old she was. I have been in sooo many of those situations since I got here, which can end in slight humiliation or a good hearty laugh depending on whose involved. Anyway, once we established that Sophia was not taking 5 times as many classes as the normal university student, we got into a pretty amusing conversation about how often we assume to know what the Chileans are saying, even though some of the time we're a little mistaken...I think I have gotten a lot better and sensing the general vibe of a conversation and then I use that as a guide to help navigate through people's questions and come up with appropriate responses. However, I always feel very pleased whenever I can tell that someone is joking around with me, because it involves a whole new level of understanding on my part and often comes at me when I least expect it.
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