Wow. Is it cold here. Initially the cold isn't too bad, it's like a normal Minnesota October where the temperature hovers in the 40s and 50s. But they don't have central heating here. You might say no big deal, there's other heating. WRONG. You get your heat from showers, small space heaters and the occasional cup of coffee or tea during the day, otherwise there is no heat. So while it's not horribly cold if you're jumping outside from one fully heated place to another, it's definitely cold on an ongoing basis. Thankfully there's only about a month or so left of this cold and it'll start turning warmer. Most days I can handle it pretty well, but today is a different story so thus why I am complaining about it so much here! I'm experiencing it as I'm writing my update to you all.
I'm definitely enjoying myself here despite how cold it gets. There is A LOT of partying going on here, some of my friends have gone out every night since we've gotten here going till at least 2:00 in the morning if not later. Chileans stay out till four or five most of the time. For myself I've been out twice and haven't stayed out too late yet, but the next three nights are full of plans... Thankfully it's the weekend! Plus it's the week before classes start so everyone seems to be trying to get some good parties in before we hit the books.
My family is awesome. They tend to be very laid back and calm (except for when the grandchildren come over... then things get a little hectic when nap time is missed). We always seem to have a good amount of things to talk about and they are great at giving me advice on life in Chile. My mom is a really good cook and we always have lunch together so far. I think my favorite "meal" of the day is once (ohn-say... the Spanish word for eleven) which is their tea/coffee time. Mainly I look forward to it to warm my hands up and eat some of the AMAZING bread that is always around. I moved in with my family on Sunday and got settled and organized by the end of the night and am getting more and more accustomed to their daily life every day. The first couple of days I had the hardest time figuring out how to get into my home however and could never open the doors and turn the locks right... I still have some difficulties with the gate but not as horrible as in the beginning.
The last few days we've started our base classes for the CIEE course of our choice and we've been doing orientation meetings with the international program of the university (PIEE). We register for our university classes on Monday and start on Wednesday, I'll be taking another four classes there for a total of six which is quite unfortunate. I think I'll be looking at seventeen credits because I had to add an additional course to get me over the sixteen credit minimum of our program.
So far nothing hugely exciting, but I know you're all looking for updates so...
Hope everything is fine at home,
Love to you all!
De
Thursday, July 29, 2010
Sunday, July 25, 2010
I'm here! In Chile!
I have been in Chile for about two days now, shortly going to be embarking on my third. It's already been a whirlwind of things going on so I'm glad to now have a little time to relax and make an update on my life now that I am here! I've found out a little bit about my family, there's a mom and a dad, they have a 29 year old daughter and a 30 year old friend of the family that lives with them. I will be meeting them today in just over an hour and can't tell you how nervous and excited I am to meet them.
More about that later after I meet them though. First things first are the last two days. We landed here Friday morning while looking off to the gorgeous Andes Mountains that were on the right side of the plane when we landed (I picked a great seat!) and drove just under two hours to Viña del Mar where we've stayed at a hotel that's just a few blocks away from the beach and ocean. Right away we had part of our orientation that is pretty much ongoing for the next few weeks in different forms and lectures but we've also done some fun things around the city walking around. We of course had to go to the beach, even though it's a tid bit chilly, nothing that a Minnesotan girl like me can't handle :) but too chilly to jump in nonetheless. We went and had a beer at a bar nearby and practiced our Spanish with some of the people that live around here.
Amazingly haven't really had any typical traditional Chilean food yet, our first night we had a HUGE sushi dinner with about eight courses (which we were full after course four or five!) and Italian last night. It's kind of surreal eating Japanese food in a different country like Chile, definitely not something I expected and it hadn't felt like I had left home at all. I'm not sure it's really hit me yet that I'm here. I'm excited to get these first weeks out of the way to rid myself of the nervousness of being 'alone' here without anyone that I know and am close to. I'm glad that there are people here that are in the same boat as me. Speaking of which we have an amazing group of people that we're here with, everyone is laid back and seems to like each other which I am excited about. We all wish that while we are excited to meet and live with our families that we could have a little more time together in the hotel as a group. But we'll have more chances to come together for trips and the like in the future.
I feel like there's so much to say right now about where I'm at and how I feel but no way to express it all and I can't even remember it all! I hope everyone is doing alright back home, I miss you all very much and can't wait to share more with you.
~De
More about that later after I meet them though. First things first are the last two days. We landed here Friday morning while looking off to the gorgeous Andes Mountains that were on the right side of the plane when we landed (I picked a great seat!) and drove just under two hours to Viña del Mar where we've stayed at a hotel that's just a few blocks away from the beach and ocean. Right away we had part of our orientation that is pretty much ongoing for the next few weeks in different forms and lectures but we've also done some fun things around the city walking around. We of course had to go to the beach, even though it's a tid bit chilly, nothing that a Minnesotan girl like me can't handle :) but too chilly to jump in nonetheless. We went and had a beer at a bar nearby and practiced our Spanish with some of the people that live around here.
Amazingly haven't really had any typical traditional Chilean food yet, our first night we had a HUGE sushi dinner with about eight courses (which we were full after course four or five!) and Italian last night. It's kind of surreal eating Japanese food in a different country like Chile, definitely not something I expected and it hadn't felt like I had left home at all. I'm not sure it's really hit me yet that I'm here. I'm excited to get these first weeks out of the way to rid myself of the nervousness of being 'alone' here without anyone that I know and am close to. I'm glad that there are people here that are in the same boat as me. Speaking of which we have an amazing group of people that we're here with, everyone is laid back and seems to like each other which I am excited about. We all wish that while we are excited to meet and live with our families that we could have a little more time together in the hotel as a group. But we'll have more chances to come together for trips and the like in the future.
I feel like there's so much to say right now about where I'm at and how I feel but no way to express it all and I can't even remember it all! I hope everyone is doing alright back home, I miss you all very much and can't wait to share more with you.
~De
Saturday, July 17, 2010
5 days away
I am five days away from boarding a plane and beginning a great adventure in my life. I've started packing and am amazed at what all I have been able to fit in my suitcases so far. Here's to hoping that everything I need and want with me fit! My emotions are running a little wild right now, once I name the emotion that I am currently feeling another rolls right in to replace it. Mostly I feel excited, apprehensive and a little of something else that I cant name right now. I mean I'm going to be away from home for five months, that means that all of my comforts will be left behind minus a few pictures and pieces that I bring with to remind me of home. BUT this is going to be such a great experience that I wouldn't miss it for anything. While I am still home I keep thinking of the events that I'm going to miss, a wedding here, softball tournament there, but then I remember that I'm going to be doing something much greater than all of that. It's just going to take getting there and doing it all for it to actually sink in and feel right. I get a little stressed sometimes right now though because I'm helping my mom make plans for when my family comes to visit. There are so many questions that she has and I don't have the answers for them yet! At least their trip is towards the end of my stay so that I can have the answers :) Other than that I really don't have much else to say that I haven't said before. The new and exciting stuff will start coming after this next week :D
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