Settling in ...

The last few days have been a bit of a blur ...

After landing approximately 27 hours later than we should have, myself and about 12 other students drove an hour or so to the small village of Olmue. As we got off the bus we met the other half of our group who had managed to get onto different flights into Santiago.

Orientation didn't slow down because we were all exhausted either ... Where we were staying was a bit of a resort I suppose. We were fed big group meals which were extremely delicious. In Chile it is very typical to have lunch as a main course for the day, so our lunches consisted of four courses. Empanadas, Soup, Entrees, and dessert. There were also breaks in which we were offered coffee, tea, and pastries. While in Olmue we learned about the school systems, registration, chilean customs. We also had dance lessons - very comical! Friday we went on a horseback ride and Saturday we went hiking through a beautiful National Park.

The only downer was taking the placement test. After not doing so great on it I was relieved to hear other people feeling the same way. I had been so nervous that I was the only one who was anxious about not feeling good about my spanish, but luckily there are all different levels of fluency amongst the students.

Saturday we drove into Viña del Mar to meet our host families. It was like a scene out of a movie ... we were in two big busses and as we drove into the city we were all anxious and getting more and more nervous. We drove into a big parking lot where the entire group of host families had gathered. As we came off the busses one by one our program director yelled out the name of our families and shouts of excitement filled the air. It was pretty amazing, and I'm sure comical for anyone watching.

My host mother's name is Patricia Velasquez, ´Patty`. She has two children, and three grandchildren. Her husband is home every 15 days (I'm not entirely clear on why yet ..). She is very sweet and refers to everyone as mi amor (my love). Her apartment is about 5 blocks away from the ocean, it's really an amazing place. Today we drove to Valparaiso which is about 15 minutes and is where I will be taking my classes. It has been very comforting talking to Patty, she only speaks to me in spanish but is quick to repeat herself and slow down when I need it ... or answer everything with a nod and ... yes, yes ...

As of now I'm using an old computer that is in an extra room here but hopefully tomorrow I'll figure out what the situation is with using computers at the school, as well as making phone calls and sending letters.

I hope everything is going well from wherever you are reading this from ... ciao, ciao