Weekly Shout-outs, Santiago Style.

After being reminded that one of UW-Madison's famous annual events, the Mifflin Street Block Party, took place this past weekend, I decided to unite with hundreds of my fellow students who have submitted their shout-outs to the Badger Herald student newspaper, relating all of the wonderful things that happened to them this weekend, in the most tasteful of manners.

Now you may be asking, just what exactly is a "shout-out"? Well, according to the most trustworthy of sources, Wikipedia.org,

a shout-out is a greeting or acknowledgment of a person, group, or organization of significance. It is often done as a sign of respect, synonymous with "giving props".

Reference key:
SO = Shout out
DSO = Double shout-out
TSO = Triple shout-out
HSO = Huge shout-out
ASO = Anti shout-out
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SO to the weather being beautiful every single day this week; it sure makes getting out of bed in the morning easier! ASO to the mornings being bitterly cold and not having heat in the homes.

SO to Mama Maria always saving me lunches when I'm at school on Tuesdays and Thursdays, you're the best! DSO to eating lunch with the family on both Saturday and Sunday this weekend, and having palta reina for the first time (Mama's version: lettuce with peppers, cucumbers, corn, and avocado split in half filled with chicken salad... mmmmm)! ASO to the extreme amounts of mayo on the potato salad but still eating it anyway!

SO to Caleb for showing up over two hours late to the asado that Ellie's family threw for him last Sunday! DSO to the delicious grilling, grapes, and enormous palta (avocado) from Ellie's dad.

SO to the delicious Chilean version of Sushi, wrapped in not only rice, but palta as well!
SO to going to spinning class with Ellie on Wednesday night and working up a good sweat! DSO to the Chileans who were actually at the gym - although it may not be the norm, it's great to see!

SO to the girl who made our entire Emerging Asia class laugh on Thursday, she may be a gringa (named Kelsey) but she can think on her feet!

SO to Mama for ironing my crappy t-shirts. DSO for doing it with a sprained wrist!

SO to going to Club Urracas on Thursday night with all of Casa Suecia. DSO to the DJ playing two Bon Jovi songs and TSO to dancing the night away and learning the Salsa and the Cumbia. ASO to coming home and smelling like cigarette smoke for the next two days.

SO to teaching English by myself on Friday night and ASO to the students in my class that showed up 45 minutes late.

SO to my friend Agustín that teaches on Friday nights too and DSO to having someone to ride the metro home with. TSO to the fact that he has 11 brothers and sisters!

SO/ASO to May 5th being my three-month anniversary of arriving in Chile.

SO to the guys, ahem, my friends, that stand outside of the Parque Bustamante metro stop selling paper flowers and chocolate. DSO to the woman who sells Berlins but ASO to their nutritional information!

SO to studying this weekend and actually getting some things done! ASO to 4-year-old Esperanza going into my room and telling everyone I'm a little unorganized...good thing she's adorable.

SO to Esperanza eating black fruit snacks and her reaction when she saw her reflection in the mirror. DSO to her being one of the wittiest children I've ever met. TSO to her taking my camera and taking pictures of anything and everything and then begging me to go to the supermarket with her.SO to having lunch with the family and having everyone pick on the USA for having an awful diet. ASO to blaming me for the influence of the Western diet on Chilean culture. It's not my fault that sweets are irresistible!

SO to helping with the collection at Mass on Sunday! DSO to the man who asked me if I actually wanted to lead a mystery of the Rosary in front of everyone before Mass. ASO to my lack of confidence with my speaking skills and declining the offer.

ASO to thinking I understood the entire conversation at lunch the other day, and when being asked if I understood saying "Yes, I understood the whole thing!" and then as I continued to explain what I thought it was I found out it was the opposite. Oh, minor details!

SO to finding the song Lady by El Medico & Crossfire on iTunes and making me want to dance every time I hear it!

SO to giving Carlos an English lesson with pronouns. DSO to him getting frustrated and yelling at me because the words mind, mine, main and mean all sound the same. "You gringas are going to kill me!" TSO to Mama asking me, "How to the children learn this? Poor babies!" HSO to the fact that I don't need to learn English!

DSO to going to La Piojera with everybody on Saturday and taking my sweet time (roughly 2.5 hours) to drink a terremoto. TSO to the guy who was zonked out at the table by us!

TSO to the group of Madisonians celebrating Mifflin Santiago style at La Piojera and HSO to meeting so many great people from Madison down here in Chile!