1st Day

Well I finally made it, in spite of erupting volcanoes! The whole trip went smoothly, but is was exhausting! My flight left O'Hare at 3:45 but we left Milwaukee at 10am because my Grandpa is paranoid, it did leave us time to have a nice lunch together and I didn't realize how hard it would be to say goodbye to the family until that moment came. I was lucky enough to have my bag searched thoroughly at the security checkpoint because apparently when bobbypins are all lined up they look like some sort of metallic weapon through the x-rays. That was fun. Otherwise things went well. The flight to Atlanta was short and upon arrival I met up with a bunch of other MU and Loyola students going on the trip. My plans of not talking to anyone and sleeping the whole flight to Santiago were shot when I started talking to the man next to me. He was going to Chile to motorcycle throughout South America for a month- apparently he and some friends travel the world to ride motorcycles. He was a pretty cool guy, but he was an engineer and thought it would be fun to teach me how to determine the length of an airplane ride based on distance and altitudes and temperature conversions and things that may come in handy some day- although I wasn't really planning on having a science lesson on my way to Chile. They served us food which was unexpected and it was actually pretty good- but then I couldn't sleep because it was so damn uncomfortable after only 3 hours! It was pretty brutal- I watched some dumb movie about witches and falling stars and then tried to sleep until the sun rise- which made it all worth it. It was one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen, although it would have been better had the gigantic wing not been in the way! They served us Breakfast and then played an episode of The Office, so I was in a pretty good mood when we finally arrived. When we got to the airport I realized that I needed to have two copies of this form that I got when I received my Visa- I didn't know we needed both of them because I had no idea what they were for, so it was really fun explaining to this security worker that I had left the other copy in the USA. He sounded concerned at first and I was really nervous that they were going to ship me back - and believe me at this point i was NOT about to get back on a plane again, but it turned out to be fine. Getting the luggage took forever, but it was entertaining to watch these cute puppies in vests walk around- stupid me thought that they were being trained for something and I almost pet one, when I realized that they were drug sniffing dogs and they were walking around to make sure we weren't bringing and drugs or food over- that was the first moment I really was aware of being in another country. Everything else was basically the same- and customs was a joke- all we did was slide our bags through an X-ray. We then waited for 2.5 hours for the other students- who never showed up so they must have missed their flight or something. Finally we got on the bus and were on our way into downtown Santiago. It was beautiful with the Andes mountains in the background- but Santiago really is as polluted as they say because it was difficult to see the mountains through all the haze. I was really shocked at the shanty towns that were along the freeway (which could have been any freeway in the US) there were whole villages made of houses that were constructed with cardboard and anything else they could find. In the concrete river beds there was garbage- literal garbage just piled up and there were some people going through it. It was so strange to see the disparity between the rich and the poor- I was shocked to see so many nice cars on the road! I am anxious to see what type of service work I will be doing- but I can already tell that there is a lot that can be done here!.... Our school is right in the middle of Downtown, and only takes up a few blocks but it is adorable. we went into the little auditorium and finally I was able to meet my host mom, Judith and her son, Francisco. Both of them have fair skin and although they have brown hair and eyes they were lighter than I expected. They are both SO SWEET! and they both helped me carry my ridiculous amount of luggage the 5 blocks to their apartment. Judith speaks pretty quickly and most of the time I only have a vague idea of what she is talking about, but Francisco speaks some English and is really helpful by talking slowly and explaining things to me. He is 20 and goes to a different university where he studies physics and engineering. He likes a lot of the same music I do and I hope that we can hang out a bit because he knows everything there is to know about being a young adult in Santiago. - and for those of you who I KNOW are going to ask, he has a girlfriend so no there is nothing romantic there :-P.
Judith lives alone with Francisco- her daughter is 24 and lives in Northern Chile, and her ex-husband still comes over for "almuerzo" which is lunch- their big meal of the day. She told me that they had been married for 26 years but then she found out he had another woman so they divorced, but Judith wants her kids to have a relationship with Eduardo (their father) and she never had any other problems with him so he is still very much a part of their lives. He is VERY outgoing and friendly so I am glad that he will be around. They all seem impressed with my Spanish, which I don't even think is that great and I hear myself speaking really choppy sentences. But apparently the last girl who stayed here barely spoke Spanish and since Judith knows NO English it was quite difficult. I can understand most of what is going on- but they speak REALLY fast and unclear here, so unless they slow down and speak clearly for me- like the family is trying to do- its all over my head! All in all, however, I seem to be holding up well. We ate lunch together which consisted of tomatoes, lettuce, avocados, rice and pork and beef in a light sauce. It was really good! They drink juice that is REALLY sweet, and chunky- I had no idea it was apple juice- it is SUPER thick and tasted more like pears to me. But the meal was nice and light so my first taste of Chile was a good one! The rest of the day was pretty uneventful- I took a nap... for 6 hours, woke up and at about midnight Judith took me to Barrio Brasil on Brasil Avenue which is where a lot of the "juventud" or youth hang out. It was full of bars and restaurants with people sitting and eating and drinking all along the sidewalks- It was really vibrant and against the backdrop of the city which is full of old architecture and palm tress, I am pretty sure I fell in love! I cannot wait to start going out and exploring the city with the other students and Francisco and his friends.
We then came back to the apartment- which is ADORABLE. Its pretty small but quaint. It is an old building so the appliances are something you would rarely see anymore in the US. You have to hand light the stove and the water heater- and I know that is just a disaster waiting to happen for me! But it will be different and I am excited to try a new kind of lifestyle. Judith's daughter- Macarena, likes art and the walls are full of her paintings which are REALLY impressive. I will take pictures and put them up soon.
It has been an eventful couple of days and although I am still getting used to things- and fighting off an attack on my allergies (feeling pretty miserable)- I am really excited to see where the semester will take me. I could probably write more but its 3am here and I need my energy to go exploring the city tomorrow in the 90 degree heat...
CIAO!