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cerveza y papas fritas

so I broke my commitment to God last night concerning alcohol. When I first went to college, I got a little into the frat scene and the whole drinking thing. When I moved into a house with 6 guys from Nor Cal, I began to drink way to often. I felt like God was pulling me back and telling me that He placed the law over me for a reason and I need to follow it. So I stopped drinking until I turned 21 and when i turned 21 I reevaluated the situation and I made the decision that I could drink, but I shouldn´t have more than two drinks a night. I have never broken that commitment, nor really wanted to, before last night.
So last night I went out with my host sibs, Felipe and Claudia, and their cousins, Paulo and Carolina. We are all in our twenties and love to sing and dance and have a good time. So we went out. First we went to a Piña (I think that is how it is spelled). It is a folklorico concert. I went to something very similar in high school with my friend Lorena for Mexican folklorico, pero CHILEANO folklorico is something else. Some of the islands of Chile have an almost Hawaiian culture so their was this dancing that looked more like hula than anything else, so beautiful. And then there was the traditional Chilean dance. I have seen it a few times before. It is an oldschool dance with teh man dressed as if he were going to fight a bull and the woman in a big country looking dress. They both have white hankerchiefs that they use in the dance. It almost looks like roosters dancing. That is the best way to describe for those who would like more information please call your nearest airline and buy a ticket for Chile.. hehe. The others in our group were a little bored at the Piña and we left early.
After going home for a minute and then driving to Claudia´s house 20 minutes away, we made our way down to the Kareoke Bar. As we were driving I wondered what time it was. We didn´t even leave for the Piña until 11 pm or so. But that is the Gringa in me. Chileans don´t seem to treally care about time, espeically at night. And it is perfectly normal to leave to go out for the night at 1 in the morning. We arrived at the bar and it was empty except for one couple who were on their honeymoon. The woman and I started talking and it turns out that she spent part of her childhood in the States, and she could speak perfect english. Her father is a diplomat and she has lived in many countries and experienced many cultures, but Chile is her home. SHe now lives in Santiago and works in marketing for Mike (don´t tell Paul that I was talking with the enemy... hehe) Anyways, she wil be back in Santiago when I am there and she promised to show me around town and bring me to the greatest kareoke spots. So I made a friend. My sister was shocked because to her it seems like no matter where I go, I make a friend there. It´s just because I am a gringa!
So we left the Kareoke Bar adn went to this bar in the center of town that is always full of university students. We ordered a pitcher of beer and a huge plate of french fries (papas fritas) and talked and sang over the traditional beer, Crystal, of Chile. I hate to admit it but I am much more of a cheap Bud Light type of girl. Mucho suave. Anyways, i had my two glasses of beer and my sister took my glass and refilled it. in my head I thought, this is more than my limit. But for some reason, it didn´t even phase me. I think a part of it was how safe I felt with the group. They are family. And I know that both Paulo and Felipe would protect me. So i drank my third, but not more. The boys have five or so, and Claudia had four I think. I felt fine, a little off balance when i stood up, but I was fine, just tipsy. I know that God protected me last night and I am going to have to be more careful in the future with how much I drink.
On a funny note: in some ways, my spanish improves when I am tipsy, and in some ways, it stinks. There were moments last night when I was able to just talk adn talk and talk. And then other moments when I kept using the wrong words. My sibs thought it was funny.

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