" Bienvenido a Chile! "

     After a 13 hour flight I finally arrived en Santiago de Chile.  After our hour long journey through immigration and customs we were finally on our way to el Hostel Internacional, which was located en el centro de Santiago.  I did not have the chance to interact much with the Chileans once I arrived here, but I most definitely made up for that during el almuerzo.  After attempting to understand the menu, I came to the realization that I had no idea what any of this food was besides huevos y hamburguesas. Our waitress spoke no english and after being utterly confused by everything she was saying I settled with hambuguesa a la pobre con platano frito... which is basically hamburger meat with fried egg and fried bananas on the side.  My hostel roommate and I roamed around downtown Santiago to do a little exploring as well as buy some much needed supplies.  We ran into a couple of other girls from our hostel and ended up touring a modern art museum que se llama el Centro Cultrual Palacio de la Moneda. This museum is designed to place Santiago in the international cultural circuit by allowing participative and formative access for all citizens to the cultural and audio-visual richness of the nation.  

Esta una exhibicion en el museo que representa la union de Norte y Sudamerica.   

(This is an exhibit in the museum that represents the union of North and South America). 

This is supposed to represent the coast of California, but as you can tell it isn't very visually accurate haha. 

     As we trekked back to the hostel I began to reflect on the limited conversations that I had had with those that I met and this feeling of "What am I even doing here?!" came over me.  The more I tried to converse in spanish, the more discouraged I began to feel.  Almost every Chilean I met spoke at a light-speed pace and a lot of the vocabulary that I was familiar with was non-existent.  I was expecting people to speak to me in English when they heard me struggling, but I continued to receive looks of bewilderment, which only added to the stress that was already building up.  Unfortunately, I went to bed that night with a heavy heart and questions of how I was ever going to endure the next 6 months. 

The room that I stayed at en el Hostel Internacional.  

The lobby

The common area outside of my window.

     I awoke the next morning feeling a bit better, but I was still worried about how I was going to communicate with my host family.  We arrived at La Catolica, which is where I will be studying for the semester, to meet our host families.  We filed into the schools monastery and I stood there waiting for my host parents to come find me.  I seriously felt like a puppy waiting to be adopted haha.  I was met by a young man who looked like he could almost be as young as me. This was my host padre y se llama Daniel.  He is 29 years old and married to my host madre, Alejandra, who is only 25 by the way.  Daniel is a chef and Ale is a psychologist for children and adolescents, they have been married for 3 years and I am their 1st host child, a new experience for both them and myself.  We had lunch together at their apartment, my home for the next month.  It is located en el barrio Nunoa, a quiet neighborhood which is a short 15 minute walk from school. I am very happy about this because by 10 am it is already almost 90 degrees outside.  After Ale came home from work they took me to purchase a Chilean cell phone and we went grocery shopping together.  Daniel cooked us an amazing dinner with carne, papas y ensalada.  We listened to an array of music during dinner, from 50 cent to the Eagles.  I could not be more happy with the host family that I have, not only are they cool, but they are also the most friendly and sweet people I have ever met.  Spending time with my new family was exactly what I needed to lift my spirits and I am most definitely looking forward to an amazing 6 months here in Santiago, Chile! :] 

Here is my bedroom. I also have my own bathroom which is a major plus! 

Mis padres jovenes, Ale y Daniel :] 

Our view during la cena.