¡Bienvenido a Chile! Going from a town of 150,000 to a city of 6 million
Hola from the heart of Santiago!
My second day in Chile and there is so much to say in this post as a lot has happened since my arrival. First off, getting to my new home took about 24 hours. Five of my friends and my family came with me to the aiport in Cheyenne, WY to say goodbye. It was a 20 minute flight to Denver's International Airport with a layover in Denver, an hour and 20 minute flight to Dallas Fort Worth, and finally a nine and a half hour flight to Santiago Chile. The most frustrating part of it all was after I landed in Santiago; going through customs and immegration took over two hours for me since I was entering the country as a tourist and getting my VISA during my stay, just to sum it up. I was SO happy, relieved, and comforted when I found Claudio holding a sign with my name on it. He is part of Experiment Chile and he drove me through the city and to the apartment. But overall, everything went smoothly.
Enough about the travel hardships! Santiago is so gorgeous and not to mention it's very hot, filled with friendly Chileans, great food, lots of sunshine, and a unique culture. My mamita (mommy) is so sweet to me. She calls me princesa (princess), linda (dear), and sweetheart and the rest of the family calls me Livy. My mama took the initative of boiling tap water and then putting it in the fridge since a traveler's first couple of weeks here can be difficult on the stomach in terms of adjusting to the tap water. The rest of the family includes my Chilean brother who is 20, my Chilean sister who is 22, and my Chilean dad. Oh, and two kittens and a dog!! The apartment is very nice with tons of bright green plants and flowers outside. There is a kitchen, laudry room, living room/dining room, a bathroom, and three bedrooms. It is hard to show the apartment through pictures but here is the general idea of the kitchen and my room.
Mi Vista: (my view) Santiagao is surrounded by two mountain ranges, the Andes to the East and another smaller range of foothills on the western side of Santiago before you reach the coast. Due to Santiago being boxed in, the heat is intense and also smoke can tend to not be blown away. In this picture the mountains you see behind the morning fog are West of the Center of the city.
Yesterday, the 8th, after I settled into my new room I went on a walk with Coto and Javi(nicknames for my brother and sister). We bought papas fritas (french fries) and talked about Chilean teenagers and teenagers in America. As for other food, I have loved Porotos Granados, a Chilean bean stew with many different types of beans and corn. I also enjoyed the refreshing salad of tomatoes, cilantro, onions, and cucumbers with black olive oil. Chileans eat tons of pan (bread) which I am utterly okay with! I love bread! Mi familia buys a lot of fresh frutas! My favorite is watermelon and the peaches. For breakfast, I make it myself by either cereal with milk but I was recommended by mamita to put yogurt ontop instead. The yogurt here comes in very different package...
Chilean spanish is different than Mexican and Spanish spanish. Chileans speak VERY fast and pronouce "yo" as "jo". As far as communicating, I speak as much spanish as I know and then my Spanish/English dictionary and my family helps me with the words I don't know. I have already learned so, so much! And I cannot wait to notice my improvement in speaking, listening, reading, and writing over the next five months.
On Monday, I start my seminars to learn more about Chilean food, spanish, traditions, and history. We will travel to Valparaiso (a town on the coast that has many traditional Chilean buildings and events) and we will get to know the city of Santiago. I also will meet the other students from Vermont, Germany, and Australia that are studying abroad here in Chile too. ¡Ciao!