Po

PO
Everyone here says 'po' after sí and no and also after sentences whenever they feel inspired. That's also where the new name for my blog came from, the phrase "Sí po weón" basically means "yeah man" and apparently young people say it all the time. Another linguistic oddity is saying "la" Kaylynn (or any other name) instead of just saying the name. Plus, my one host sister's nickname is "Titi"...I'm sure you all see the humor in that :)


CALAMA
Tierra del sol y cobre (land of sun and copper)
That is basically the draw of Calama. Most people who live here were not born here, rather they've settle in the city because of work. That is the situation with my host family and many of the teachers with whom I've talked. To be honest, Calama is not nice to look at, and the only reason it exists is because the largest copper mine in the world is about 5 minutes away. The people who live here absolutely make up for its ugliness and randomness in the middle of the driest desert on earth! Everyone I've met is extremely nice, inviting and caring.

Speaking of the desert, the climate here is severely extreme-- it feels like winter in the evening and morning and like summer while the sun is out during the day.


Sugar
ON EVERYTHING! Not even children in the US consume as much sugar as your average everyday Chilean. Its incredible...all they drink is soda or "juice" which I put in parenthesis because its basically sugar water with a little juice concentrate in it (yuk!). Plus, cookies and candy are always readily available.