I've been trying to get myself outside more because it is beautiful and sunny out with a gentle summer breeze. The sun is noticeably stronger here. I bought some sunscreen already because I could feel myself slowly frying on my walk to school. I was doing a little bit of homework in the backyard between lunch and my next class in the afternoon when my host mom came out to smoke a cigarette so we chatted for a while. When it came up that I got home from Marcelo's house at midnight last night, she paused and looked me in the eyes for a while and she told me she was worried that I was falling in love with him. She's very direct, but luckily I'm an equally open person so it didn't bug me at all. It's interesting because we came to the conclusion that relationships mean very different things to her and to me. In her eyes, falling in love with someone leads to a lifetime commitment. Case and point, her relationship with her husband that began when she was 13. I tried to explain how I always like to know my options before I make a decision, and for that I want to date enough people before I get married to feel good about my choice throughout my life. I gave her an analogy in which I compared men to ice cream and how I'm still looking for my favorite flavor, which I think got my point across fairly well and made her laugh and tell she'd heard enough about my personal life. I think to her my philosophy still sounded a little flawed because she was worried that I or someone else would get hurt in the process. True, it makes things more complicated when you love multiple people throughout different periods of your life, but I don't consider it a bad thing. Like I told her, every relationship is a learning experience and I want to learn as much as possible about myself and the dynamics of being with someone before I get married. I think she worries about me much more than she needs to because she always tells me to watch out for Chilean guys who are only interested in me because I'm American. It's funny because she started getting into that again today and I had to remind her that I was already in a relationship with a Chilean whom she has already met and she couldn't stop calling "lovely" "respectful" and a true gentleman. Like I've said before, she likes to preoccupy herself with things that most likely will never occur. I don't think she will ever stop worrying about me, but at this point it is really her deal, not mine. There are quite a few cultural and generational differences between us I'd say, and I hope that I am not the only one learning about the many ways one can go about living a happy and healthy life.