Why my Chilean Friends are Awesome

So two days ago Victor finally got fed up with his inability to contact me whenever he wanted. Apparently my like of a phone number wasn't acceptable. Up to this point the only way we had been able to communicate had been email, or if I called him using skype. So on Wednesday Victor and Rocio came to my office and told me that they had a present for me. Apparently Victor had found an old cellphone that no one was using and decided to let me borrow it for the rest of the time that I'm here. All I would have to do is buy a prepaid simcard for it, then recharge it whenever necessary. So we went to a store and bought one, and now I have a phone. Awesome. This will simplify my life somewhat. It has been difficult trying to get together with people. You don't realize how dependent you are on your cellphone until you are standing outside of McDonalds at midnight hoping that your friends are actually on their way, with no way to contact them to make sure.
After that I had to go and work with Marcos, so we made plans to meet up in front of McDonalds (it's always our meeting spot) at 7:30. Not only were they nice enough to get a phone for me, but they also wanted to have me over for dinner/to help them study for a quiz they had on Thursday. So I met up with Victor t 7:30, Rocio was working till 10, then we got on a bus to go to Rocio's house. On the way there Victor asked me if I wanted to see his house and meet his family. Naturally I said yes, so we went to his house where I met his two younger brothers, 10 and 4, his grandmother, and his mom. It was great. Very friendly people, welcomed me into their home without hesitation. I talked to his mom for a bit, then we walked over to Rocio's house to wait for her to get off work. We talked for awhile and studied some English, then when Rocio got home we had some food. Really good bread with mashed avocado (I've been assured that this is different from guacamole because there are no other ingredients), Aji (hot chilly peppers), ham and cheese. Incredibly good. While we ate I helped them study. I ended up staying until 1:30am. It was a lot of fun. I am continually impressed by how nice, warm and welcoming chileans are. Very friendly and always willing to offer help when and where needed.
The next day they came to my office again, and with another present. This time it was a book of chilean slang. Under each others tutelage I am starting to get a hang of chilenismo, and Victor is becoming quite proficient in swearing in English. He has all the basics down now, it's pretty hillarious.
Victor and Rocio have been great. they took me out for my birthday, took me out for halloween, gave me a cellphone, introduced me to family, had me over for dinner, and they gave me book to help me understand their language better. Talk about friends. I can already tell that I will be staying in contact with them for a long time after I leave Chile.