End of Week 1

It's Friday January 22, 2010. We've been here in Las Condes, Santiago, Chile for a week and yet sometimes it feels like a lot longer, while other times it feels like we just got here. We had a safe, long flight. We were supposed to meet up with Carlos (one of the 6 students) in Lima, Peru but he just barely missed the flight. We didn't know what had happened or where he was, but luckily he arrived in Chile the next day. We've already visited Santa Lucia, Plaza de Armas, the oldest cathedral in Chile which is located there, the mall, Pueblito los Dominicos, el Mercado Central, among some other things. The third day we were here was also the day they voted for their new president. It's a really big day here: they close down the stores until later in the afternoon, I think it's a "dry" day (w/o alcohol), and some of the streets were closed. Piñera won and he marks a change from the left-winged era that has ruled Chile for 20 years. There was much celebration near my house as you can see in a couple of the videos I posted on facebook.

We've also had our first week of classes (Mon-Thur). I think I'm learning a lot of Spanish even when I'm just sitting there listening trying to understand. It's still hard to communicate ideas sometimes though. It has been really hot here because it's the summer. The last two days it's been in the mid 90s and it's expected to reach a similar temperature tomorrow. Sometimes I feel like I'm going to melt.

A day in the life: I wake up around 8am (we're 5 hours ahead so it'd be 3am west coast time) and go into the kitchen where I turn on the gas water heater hoping every day that it will eventually allow me to have a warm shower. Then I go back into my room where I have my own bathroom and shower. I'm a lot taller than the average Chilean woman and even a bit taller than the average Chilean man, so the shower seems kind of short, but it's better than nothing. Then I get dressed and eat something for breakfast. A typical Chilean breakfast isn't very big- toast and jam, cereal, fruit perhaps. Then I prepare my backpack and my mom makes my lunch. Chileans walk everywhere and when in Chile, do as the Chileans. I walk 15-20 minutes to the church where we have our classes. Right now it's under construction so it's pretty loud there. We go through our classes, have lunch and by 3 or 4pm (15:00 or 16:00) we're done and walk home or do hang out with each other for a bit. Veronica and I have gone to get ice cream a few times for example and Pat and Taylor always have something up their sleeves it seems like. Then I walk the 15-20 minutes home, go on facebook, watch TV in Spanish, try to talk/listen to my family, etc. Eventually anywhere between 8-10 we eat dinner as a family (whoever is awake/home). The Chileans are typically night owls have shift everything a little later than in the States. I go to bed around midnight though a lot of my family stays up later, especially my siblings because it's summer and they don't have school.

By the way, in case you don't know there are 6 students from NCU including me studying down here and one professor. In my "family" I have 3 sisters (but only 2 living here), one brother, my Argentinian mom, my dad, and his nephew...my cousin? My cousin speaks English fluently and my brother, dad, and sister speak some too.

Chilean cultural things: When you meet someone, when someone comes home, or when someone leaves, etc (only between women/women and men/women) you kiss each other on their right cheek. If it's a men/men relationship they hug. When you arrive I think it's polite to say hi/kiss everyone and when you leave it's polite to say "¡chau!" to everyone and kiss them again. The clothing for the younger generation is basically "American."
If they were walking around on the streets of America for the most part, they'd blend in.

Well, I'll try to do this once a week to keep everyone updated.
Chillin in Chile,
Elisa/Elyse =)