La Familia Chilena

A Mother, a father, a brother, a sister, 4 aunts and 4 uncles, 9 cousins, a grandmother and a grandfather make up my Chilean family tree.
One thing that they cherish very much here in Chile is family. So much so, nieces and nephews are loved by aunts and uncles as their own. I feel very fortunate to have fallen into their branches. They've taken me in as one of their own; a filipino-gringo alien who came from a world thousands of miles away. I kind of feel like Kevin Costner in Dances With Wolves or to be more up-to-date pop-sensical, the hero guy from Avatar.

el cumpleaños de niko

My Chilean father, Fernando, is calm and cool, sharing with confidence his knowledge of his country's history and culture. He also teaches me lots of funny bad words.
Special Move: He loves wine and always makes sure my cup never goes dry.

My mother, Sandra, is a mother in its purest form. She's the first one awake and the last one to go to bed. Her unselfish character is extraordinary, sacrificing her comfort for the benefit of her loved ones.
Special Moves: Always has a funny story to tell and likes to brag to others about me.
(*note: don't worry real mom, you're still #1!)

My brother, Niko, is 17 and is non-stop entertainment. Always strutting around with a song stuck in his head, he moves at his own pace with a carefree eyes.
Special Move: Alleviates awkward silences by throwing imaginary grenades.

My sister, Feña, is an 11 year old angel from the heavens. Her high pitched voice strikes cute chords with me, which make me go "awww..". Her favorite color is a lime green and she likes drawing and making me play computer games.
Special Move: Leans on my shoulder while asking adorable, curious questions.

The whole family, minus an aunt and uncle and 2 cousins, lives in Angol. Every weekend is a family event, normally at the grandparents house where we eat plenty and play around with the little babies. Agu is a year and 4months and loves to shout my name every 2 minutes. Sofía is a year and 8months and is quite a tazmanian devil. Those two running and dancing around is pure entertainment for hours.
I often hang outside with my papá and the uncles, drinking jote (a mix of boxed red wine and coca cola. it's grown on me). They are a lot of fun and laugh a lot.

I'm very happy to be staying until the end of the year with them. It would been way to difficult to leave them in July.
Winter is here and thus begins the rainy season. It's been raining almost non-stop for the past 3 days. Fernando, my Chilean father, loves the rain.
"Por qué?" I asked him.
"Porque es vida." He replied.

I miss all of my family at home.
Love to my Mom and Dad, and my bros Rex and Ray!

Chao from Chile..