Pausing, to smell the flowers and change paradigms

Hello all!
I am writing now from Rencagua, Chile where my friend Camilo lives. He is staying with my family in Viña and invited me here this weekend. It is really beautiful to sit and watch the rain fall. We came in late last night, and were greeted by his family with warm food. Today we have eaten breakfast and lunch and it has been warm and wonderful. I am very proud of the fact that I can understand more and more every day. I read the newspaper today, and was so thrilled to be able to UNDERSTAND the articles! ¡Qué bueno! So, these last few days have been pretty eventful...
Thursday night, I hung out with Amelie, and discussed possible traveling plans for when Bailey is here. She has that whole week off from school, and I don´t, but I am thinking of maybe taking a little time off anyways. At first, I didn´t want to miss so much school (which actually isn´t that much) but then realized that 1)Bailey will be here! and 2) I need to take every travel oportunity possible (especially with Bailey and Amelie!), so I will get to go to somewhere really cool for a week instead of sit in a classroom. Anyway, back to Thursday night... Amelie and I hung out, and then I went to this place Sausalito (which is part of our campus) to meet up with my friend Francisco from my (ex) Philosophy class for this fiesta that was happening there. I went and waited and waited, and couldn´t see\hear anything or anyone (including him) so I left to meet up with Amelie at a bar. While I was there, Francisco called and appologized ( I guess there was another enterance to the place) and agreed to meet up with us at the bar. He did, and we ended up having a lovely time, and he walked me home to be safe. It turned out to be a good night after all.
Then, yesterday (Friday) we went to Rabuco with CIEE. It was SO nice to be there! It is this small town in el campo, and we visited a grape farm (not for wine, but for eating\juices, etc...) and then ate empenadas and learned Cueca. My friend Connor and I volunteered to demonstrate the dance, and he was a great dance partner. Then, we walked around the property and into all of the greenhouses filled with flowers! They were soooooo beautiful (Mom, you would have Loved it!) pansies, marigolds, and countless others- alyssum.... So many beautiful things. Each table had flowers in their different stages from seeds to sprouts to fully grown blossoms, ready to be sold. There were women in there who planted one seed, row by row into the tiny planters. It seemed pretty monogomous, but work nontheless... Every plant was so distinct and vibrant with color and smell, it really calmed my mind, and made me feel very tranquilo. After that we played games (like 3-legged race, sack races, tug-of-war) and finished the day with postres and té. Then, once I returned to Viña, I turned around and took a bus with Camilo to Santiago, then to Rancagua which is where I am now!
The Paradigm shifting is becoming more and more of a daily occourance. For instance : I used to get peeved when people would try and "espeak eh englisch" to me, even though it was obvious they couldn´t speak English. Then, I met a French girl and told her that "Jue parlee un pu de Francais", and she didn´t seem too enthused. I then realized that my intentions were soley based on the context that I may be able to communicate with her in another language-Her language, even though I didn´t really know how to connect fluently. Thus, I am a lot more pacient when people try and Espeak Englich to me, because I know they are only trying to connect- and what´s wrong with that??? Another instance happened on the Bus, when I was trying to get comfortable. I had taken off my shoes (It was about a 2 hour ride) and had put my feet up between the (empty) armchair in front of me and the window. Camilo made a comment about "wow, make yourself comfortable!" and when I asked if it was bad, or wrong, he replied "its a little feo". So, getting "comfortable" on a bus isn´t quite ordinary around here. But then, I wonder WHY NOT!? Why is it not "ok" to make sure you are comfortable? I guess its not like I was horribly UNcomfortable, but it was just nicer to put my feet up.... Oh well, just another thing to learn. HOW TO ABIDE. Or Adapt? no sé. Either way, thoughts are still tranquilo as I figure out day to day how I want to spend my time living in this world...
But more on that later.
Caio all! ¡Stay healthy!