My last post was very optimistic, and this one is too, but for very different reasons.

On Sunday we all arrived in Santiago and moved in with our families. The van was full of oh-so-much excitement and everyone was very anxious to be acquainted with our new families... and within two hours of meeting mine I was already in tears in my room. The city is absolutely amazing, and that means a lot coming from me, but it took me a while to realize this. My madre, for one thing, supports Pinochet and runs a very conservative household. She also only takes students as a way to earn money, which means she hasn't fed me lunch and has absolutely no interest in getting to know me or help me with my Spanish. (She even rolled her eyes at me when I asked her to repeat something.) Don't worry, I'm not an idiot, and I talked to my directors about it so they're going to move me to another family tomorrow. I'm already very excited because I will unofficially be the tia (aunt) of one of the girls in my program (my madre is the mother of her madre), and we're neighbors! So even though I have to take the bus, it'll be much better. (For those of you who don't know, Santiago just got this new bus system which works HORRIBLY. They have half the buses they need and the entire public is in an uproar. It got started two days before we arrived.) For some reason I'm not surprised that I'm the one that gets the scary torture-supporting family... though they do serve me my meals on a silver platter! (....no joke.)

Other than that, Santiago is amazing! I as a general rule hate cities, and already Santiago is starting to take a little piece of my heart. There is a lot of green everywhere - mini parks between the lanes of big highways, old playgrounds, trees lining roads, plants spilling from balconies, everywhere. It's very normal to have little stands selling random things like tabloids, incense, gum, empanadas (the official snack here.. soooo gooood). The program gave us an activity to do yesterday where we had to find a certain place in the city and observe, then interview random people about what it was, it's significance, etc, and then about certain slang words they have here. Chile is almost like a different language from Spanish... I've had to relearn many, many words. They also speak much, much differently. It's a beautiful accent. Anyways, my friend Marguerritte and I had to find Plaza Brasil, which ended up being this huge old playground with ginourmous trees! We met a lot of people, and met these kids (see picture) who tried to practice their English with us. The girl even sang us a song! The people are incredible, everywhere. I haven't met a person yet I didn't like (except my madre, whoops). Sometimes, they're too nice... Since my group is all girls pretty much, catcalls happen at a rate of perhaps one every five seconds. When I asked a man directions to my street, he answered, then asked where I lived and if I wanted an escort. Adios......

Tomorrow the program set aside a day for us to go and "culturalize." I think a few of us are going to go to Santa Lucia (a hill in the city from which you can see the entire city, and way off to the Andes), el Museo de Belles Artes (art museum), and probably just to wander, eat at Bar Restaran (director Rossana's favorite Chilean restuarant) or whatever.

Culture shock is a strange thing. At times you feel very at home where you are, and at others like you can't comprehend a thing. Sometimes home hits you in the gut at the mention of a single word, like 'lejos' which means far away. Many moments in the day I think about how different Chile is, and how unlike home. But there is also a prevailing spirit that I think does not change. People do the same things. Kids bury their friends in the sand, children get angry when you ignore them, couples kiss and gossip, we all just want to get along in this world. The faces here are different from those at home in strange ways that I can't quite grasp, perhaps it is just the influence of the accent. In everyone's eyes, though, I can see someone from home. The woman at the cafe today winked at me when I asked her what kind of cheese I was eating. It's all the little things about a place that make me feel very much at home. I love it here.

estoy aqui!

I'm finally here! After a first day that spanned two continents, forty hours, and seven meals, I can really say that I am in Chile. All the nervousness and excitement, packing, getting stressed out... it has already been worth it. If you've never traveled abroad, then there is no way to understand the feelings that wash over you the first time you set foot in a new country. My first step outside was into an amazing sunrise, coming over the Andes mountains. Can't get much better than that!

My group (which consists of eleven girls and one guy) is currently going through orientation in the beautiful ocean town of Algarrobo (here's the view from my room). Spanish is already incredibly easier than before I got here - it's actually a bit strange to be speaking only in English. I keep having to translate it BACK... which is very unusual but also quite encouraging. They finally told us what the structure of our ISP is... basically, the last month we're here we are completely separate from everyone, finding our own living area, paying our own way (with their money), and making all of our own connections. Completely separate from EVERYONE. The whole calendar page is blank. Did I mention how intimidating that is? Also exciting though. I have an idea for my research already, and my Fellows will probably love it. I want to go to Chiloe (which has an indigenous population) and study the positive and negative effects of education as a service, whether they desire it, and whether because of their separation, size, and resources if it is even beneficial or only a masquerade. I'll develop it, I'm sure, but right now that sounds like an incredible project!

Today we went to the Pablo Neruda House in Isla Negra. Neruda is THE poet of Chile, and very talented. I suggest you look him up! He was a huge collector and his house is full of insects, figureheads of women, giant shoes, interesting bottles, strange instruments, pebble mosaics, and all sorts of nautical objects. I wish I lived there. Yesterday we went walking all along the beach. There are so many people here! (and it's not even close to Santiago's size) It's really hard to be American without complete understanding of what people are saying, because it all ends up being lots of people staring at you and talking. Very disconcerting.

Actually, I wish I just lived here. Chile is amazing! There is beauty everywhere you go, nature spilling into the streets, vibrant colors, people walking, sunshine, everything imaginable. The city might be a bit different, but we'll see! The group I'm with is awesome - already I know that we'll be fast friends by the end of it. Even with one guy, there is great dynamic. We all have very different backgrounds, ideas, etc and very different views of the world, yet have enough in common that there is no hostility, and a genuine interest in getting to know each other. They also speak English. (Here's a picture of us, minus Lauren who met us in Santiago.)

Chile won a big soccer game last night against Argentina, and the streets and bars were positively packed! It's so exciting. There are so many little things here that are different - hairstyles (lots of mullets and rattails.. Nate would fit right in), roads (no traffic lights), walls, advertisements. The language is also very different from Spanish in classrooms. They don't pronounce the s if it comes before a consonant (like in estar, esperar, buscar..) and lots of vocabulary is different.

Time for the cocktail! Have a fabulous weekend, all!

PS - check out what we found written on the back of the car... Fame travels!