---> My house (in the middle of the street)

So today and yesterday I havn't been at school because I've got a bit of a cold and am doing everything possible to get better, which means lots of bed rest, drinking lots of water, wearing warm clothes, socks and getting early nights (none of which I would do in NZ when I get colds, but the Kiwi 'she'll be right' attitude doesn't apply to me when I'm in Chile and should obey my host mum's wishes for me to not contaminate everyone else in the house and recover in time for Friday, when we will be going to the Pan de Azucar  with a group from my host dad's work. The other reason is if I have to go to the doctor (it's a cold, only a bit of a cough, a headache, runny nose, nothing serious) I have been told I will get an Injection. So in NZ, people give injections in the arm. No problem (although injections for colds, that's new). A month back I was talking to my Aussie friend, who was too sick to come to the one-month orientation, and he was telling me how horrible it was to be so unwell in a foreign country. What made it so horrible? Injections. With a Capital I. Because, in Chile, you see, they don't inject into your upper arm. Oh no. They inject into your buttock. So that's why I am trying to get rid of my pesky cold.

So while I was home alone yesterday I whipped out my camera and took a few photos of my casa. The only parts I didn't take photos of were the bedrooms of other family members and bathrooms (Chilean toilets are pretty much exactly the same in NZ)

My house, in the middle of the street. All houses in Chile have fences

Me in front of the house. There's a roundabout at the end of the street with a little park in it

The back of the house. My room on the left

The front door

Room at the back of the house. It's what I'd call an 'Utility Room'

The study

Lounge. Dining room table on the bottom left

Laundry. The door leads out to a tiny courtyard where the washing is hung

Kitchen. We use a water filter because the tap water has a flavour. Most Chilean families don't have dishwashers (or dryers, in Copiapó, because it's sunny all the time, except at night and when it's misty)

Other part of the kitchen, with the door I got my fingers jammed in on Sunday

Upstairs little corridoor. Forgot to rotate

My room, my desk on the left, host sister's on the right. That's my closet, and notice there's no curtains. Well that thing on my desk is the curtains to be velcroed up. 

My corner of the room. There's a hairdryer on my shelves, because I have to dry my hair. The NZ flag takes pride of place above my bed. The rubbish bin is actually a beer cooler, for the Chilean beer Cristal. Havn't tried it.

The backyard, from my room. In the corner is a little waterfall. In the bottom left hand corner is the barbecue

What am I having cravings for at the moment? Spaghetti and cheese on toast. Marmite and cheese on toast. Mince and cheese on toast. Tasty cheddar cheese. Curry (without cheese). Fresh milk. My doggie. Sneakily taking bits of my Dad's secret supply of lollies. Mum's baking. The beach. Fellow Kiwis. NZ music (which I'm currently listening to on youtube, to celebrate NZ music month). Biking down my street with my coat, scarf, gloves and hat under my helmet and being snuggly while my ears feel like they have frostbite. Driving. The mountain beside the sea. People who I've known for nearly all my life. Sheep. 

These are also the things I would most like to share with a person who is foreign to NZ. Being an exchange student and experiencing something new in another country has made me realise how much I would love to be a host sister to an AFSer and show them New Zealand. And although I'm missing the things I listed above, I'll be able to come back to them. So it's a missing feeling, but not a sad feeling. 

There are things I tell my classmates about NZ and they are absolutely shocked by. For example, my school in Chile goes from primary to high school, and is mixed. So imagine their surprise when I said my school in NZ is a high school, with 1300 girls. And they were in awe at the fact we wear sandals in the summer terms, because here (in the desert) it's shoes and socks all year round (and trousers for the boys). 

My school in NZ has a cafeteria, (-forgot the word to put in here-) referred to as The Caff. Where they sell pies, cordon bleu's, pizzas, muffins, drinks (but not fizzy ones), biscuits, yoghurt, fruit, sammies, potatoe tops, noodles, soup, panini's... etc. So if you need a bought lunch you buy one or two things, a panini and a cookie for example.

Here in Chile, if you buy a lunch from the school kiosk, it comes on a tray with little sections. Rice and chicken in a sauce, chopped lettuce, beetroot and lemon to put on it. A bread roll. A little cup of juice. (And if you get the slightly more expensive one, a dessert like jelly or flan). Cheaper than a NZ caff lunch would be too. 

Well that's all folks,

until next time :)