Feels like I’ve been here much longer than just a few days because so much has happened, yet at the same time, I don’t know nearly enough to have been here for much longer than that! Time is definitely a funny thing. We’ve all been really busy as our host families introduce us to everyone, show us the city and surrounding areas, take us to the mall to buy a phone, help us figure out the micros (buses)…but I’m glad that I’ve hardly had a minute to sit still because now, when I suddenly have a free afternoon, I’m not quite sure what to do with myself. Being in a foreign country is definitely an amazing experience, but I don’t want to have time to think about home. I know that as we get used to our schedules, start getting homework for classes, and finally figure out where everyone lives and how to get there, things will pick up again. We all received maps of Vina at the university yesterday, so Jess and I figured out a good half-way point between our houses—a café where we can hang out and study on weekdays. I talked with a few CSB students, sounds like we all love our host families but are ready for some independence and hanging out with friends instead of being around the house all day—guess that means we’re adjusting to life here. That’s the translation of the title: I’m adjusting…little by little.
The Language:
A common topic of conversation with us study-abroaders is los modismos (the sayings, unique expressions) of Chile. My host family points out these “chilenismos” often and has tried to mention some common ones to me. For instance, palta for avocado, carrete for a party or going out, cachai for y’know.
I’m also picking up on common expressions like Que lindo, which can be used to describe anything that’s good, really. Except food, which is covered by the expression Que rico.
Three of my classes are in Spanish, too. I had my first class yesterday, a political science class about conflict in Latin America and international relations. It should be very interesting, but this is the first time the prof has taught a class of estudiantes de intercambio (exchange students) and he spoke really fast. We got him to slow down a little, but it’s still a bit overwhelming. Plus, everyone else acts like they understand, but at one point I got a bit lost and said so. It was pretty funny, actually, because after that he’d pause every once in awhile to make sure that everyone understood—but he’d look directly at me and as long as I didn’t look super confused, he’d move on. Rather amused me, in a way it’s great because I can only improve from here! My art prof speaks quickly but is really easy to understand--plus he's hilarious, so will always look forward to that class.
The Food:
Breakfast is light—bread or galletas (crackers) with mermelada (jam), sometimes Corn Flakes, and coffee or tea.
Lunch is truly a meal if I ever saw one and is served in the early-mid afternoon depending on the family and everyone’s schedules—bread, potatoes, or rice (which can be eaten with mayonnaise—anything can be eaten with mayonnaise, really), usually some type of meat, and vegetables. Then comes soup, followed by dessert, which is either fruit or some very sweet postre (dessert) like pie. Ginger ale is the drink of choice at my house.
Once (which means 11, but is not eaten at 11, so I have no idea how that came about) is served 7 or later and consists of coffee or tea and bread (sometimes with cheese, today we had it with manjar or dulce de leche, a spread with a caramel flavor) or pastries. Sometimes this is dinner for me, but if it’s eaten early enough, then we’ll have something small later—like pie, soup, or fruit.
A few students have said that their dinner is basically lunch served all over again, but in my case and for many others, we’ve learned that it is best to eat everything given to you at lunch—you never know how small dinner will be!
Also, a note on the yogurt--you can basically drink it. I did not know this, so, to the great amusement of Elle and Jordan (mi sobrino, nephew, because his host mom is my host mom's daughter), I spilled it ALL OVER my coat today on the walk home.
The Transportation:
There are 5 main modes of transportation in Vina. The Metro (which I live too far from to take), micros (buses), colectivos (which have routes like buses, are the size of cabs, and will keep picking up passengers until they are full), taxis (which are the most expensive), and walking. I walk whenever I can—I walk home from school, about a 25 min walk, which is basically uphill the entire time. Thought about joining an exercise program…but walking home from school convinced me that it won’t be necessary.
Being Conspicuous:
Yesterday was our first at the university—when a group of us walk by, everyone stares. In the supermarket yesterday with Mama, I caught a glimpse in the mirror of me among the chilenos…tall with lighter hair, eyes, and complexion…plus the still slightly-awed expression of a newcomer…yep, you could spot me from a mile away. I’ve never stuck out in a crowd on a daily basis before, so it’s definitely a new experience for me.
Units of Measure:
Don’t even ask me how much something costs in US dollars if I don’t have a pencil and paper to do the conversion. Same with kilometers and miles. But honestly, there’s so much else to keep in mind here that I haven’t really tried to adjust to these things yet—one thing I’ve learned about myself is that there’s a cap on how much new information I can take in at a time. After a certain point, it’s rather useless to explain anything else to me until other information has taken time to sink in--only so much water can fit in a funnel before it starts spilling over the sides.
Also, it’s military time here--which of course is simple to figure out, but I’m not used to thinking that way yet.
Have been all around Vina—so far these past few days, mis padres gave me a driven tour, the CSB/SJU students went to the “gringo bar” Café Journal on Saturday (I told my host dad that I can speak Spanish better after I've had a piscola--he thought that was hilarious), my assigned “Buddy” from school and I walked to the beach, mi familia went to Mass, and today I walked with Mama to el centro where there are lots of shops. On Wednesday, I don’t have any classes and after lunch neither does Luis, my host nephew (though he’s a year or so older than me). So he’s going to give me a tour of Vina!
Today is Mama's birthday, so we're going to have a fiesta!!!!
Besos!!!
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Saturday, August 15, 2009
Mi Familia Chilena y Primer Dia en Chile
Woke up this morning and was still in Chile...guess this isn't a dream after all!
After waiting a long time at the airport (I'm guessing that's what purgatory's like...waiting around for something amazing but barely being able to understand what anyone's saying around you), we finally piled into the bus. The ride was lovely; aromos, which are trees with yellow flowers that bloom only in the month of August, surrounded the highway. The landscape is very similar to Washington, very green and lots of hills. Besides that, it was cold and rainy yesterday, so I almost felt like I'd flown right into a Washington winter.
Everyone's excitement and nerves escalated as we approached Vina. When we finally entered the city, no one could believe it--this is our home for 4 months. Everything still feels so surreal. Vina is a beautiful city, and it is definitely a city--high buildings packed in close, narrow streets-- which will be something for this suburban girl to get used to. Since we don't know the lay-out of the city yet, we had no idea when we were approaching the place where we'd meet our host families...until we saw a group of people with signs, and then everyone flipped out. Our families were so excited to see us, and we were so excited (and incredibly nervous) to see them. Lots of hugs and kisses (not two sides, just one).
Cecilia, my host mom, has already told me to call her "Mama" and sometimes calls me "Angie" or "M'ija" (mi hija, or my daughter--you're all going to learn Spanish with me!!!) She and Octavio were waiting for me, and brought along their granddaughter Tania, who is a little older than me and studying nursing. Suddenly, it was all Spanish...and while I know I'm conjugating verbs incorrectly without abandon and my most common response when I don't know what else to say is "Oh, si?", they are all so patient with me. They've complimented me on my Spanish, which although feels quite undeserved, is really nice to hear. I have to say, the switching between Spanish and English can be very confusing, and I find that my thoughts are a mezcla (mix) of words from both languages...when communicating in English over Facebook or e-mail, I catch myself throwing in a Spanish word every once in awhile.
I've been trying really hard to ask if I don't understand something (and if I don't, I think my confusion's pretty clear on my face...my family repeats or tries to explain in a different way) and ask for the words for a lot of things I don't know, which seems to make Octavio proud. He speaks English, though, so if ever I'm having a really hard time with something, he breaks out the English, which is definitely a nice fall-back.
Here in Vina, I have my own little room with a view of the city and the ocean. I absolutely adore it (I also get my own bathroom--que sorpresa tan agradable!--what a nice surprise!). The departamento (apartment) is pretty small since it's usually just Octavio, Cecilia, and their dog, Luna (which means moon). Cecilia told me that she and Octavio have never hosted a student before, but their daughter Claudia has, and they decided to because it's fome (boring) without having other people in the house. This is just as new to them as it is to me, and they both really want me to feel at home.
Even though it's just a few of us living in the departamento, there are always people popping in and out, sometimes just for a few minutes. Looks like my family is going to be much larger than I thought! For future reference (and to help me remember), here's the low-down on mi familia chilena:
Octavio is a profesor at la Universidad de Vina and teaches electronics (which was extremely handy when it came to figuring out the adaptor--he got out this machine to test the voltage on my computer to make sure that it wouldn't "blow up" (he knew that English expression)). He's kind of quiet and at first was difficult for me to understand, but Mama Cecilia keeps telling him to "Speak slower!" The more I try to push my limits in Spanish and learn more, the more he seems to warm up to me. He's also missing half of his middle finger...I suppose I have 4 months to get the story!
Cecilia is an incredible cook. I will definitely not go hungry here...yesterday we were home in time for lunch...mashed potatoes, salad, meat, soup, and dessert, which was a thin layer of cake, bananas, and a caramel-pudding type topping....during my siesta all I could think was "I'm gonna be so fat by the time I leave" but dinners are a LOT lighter. And in fact, we talked about eating healthy that night (Norteamericanos are so fat!), so I don't think I have much to fear after all. I do know that I will return to the States having eaten enough palta (avocado) to last me a lifetime.
Luna is the sweetest, fluffiest toy poodle. She is quite the little diva with a little pink sweater (Chile is definitely chilly this time of year). Yesterday, she kept hopping up on my bed so I'd pet her--I think I'm gonna like having a dog!
Cecilia and Octavio have 3 married daughters:
Miriam and her husband live in Vina. They have 4 children, the oldest two are the only ones I haven't met. One of them is Luis, who studies law at the same university I'll attend. The girls I met were Maria Fernanda, 16, and Maria Paz, 6, both of whom are incredibly sweet.
Claudia lives in the same apartment complex and is hosting a student from California and another from St. John's. She and her husband have 3 daughers, Tania and Paulina/Toto (they are both close to my age) and Francisca, who's probably around 12. Last night, Pamela (the youngest daughter) and I went over to Claudia's apartment for a little while, where I tried Pisco sour (famous Chilean drink). We all toasted to "Salud." Claudia's husband asked what the translation in English is, and we said, "Cheers!" When he tried to say it at first, it sounded like "Shit"...He got it eventually, though, "like the bar in the television show!"
Pamela lives in the South with her husband and son, Benjamin, who is almost 1. She and Benjamin are visiting now and staying in the departamento with us. I'm going to miss them both, Pamela is really caring, funny, and great at explaining things to me. Benjamin is adorable and warmed up to me yesterday...he's got curly hair and long eyelashes, such a cutie.
Today has been pretty relaxing, we're going to head out to the mall in a bit so I can get a cell phone and some school supplies. I feel very grateful to have such a wonderful host family. I already feel like I've experienced a lot, and have been here only a little over 24 hours! Even still, I can already tell that these 4 months are absolutely going to fly by, and I'm excited to make the most of every minute of it!
Besos to you all!
After waiting a long time at the airport (I'm guessing that's what purgatory's like...waiting around for something amazing but barely being able to understand what anyone's saying around you), we finally piled into the bus. The ride was lovely; aromos, which are trees with yellow flowers that bloom only in the month of August, surrounded the highway. The landscape is very similar to Washington, very green and lots of hills. Besides that, it was cold and rainy yesterday, so I almost felt like I'd flown right into a Washington winter.
Everyone's excitement and nerves escalated as we approached Vina. When we finally entered the city, no one could believe it--this is our home for 4 months. Everything still feels so surreal. Vina is a beautiful city, and it is definitely a city--high buildings packed in close, narrow streets-- which will be something for this suburban girl to get used to. Since we don't know the lay-out of the city yet, we had no idea when we were approaching the place where we'd meet our host families...until we saw a group of people with signs, and then everyone flipped out. Our families were so excited to see us, and we were so excited (and incredibly nervous) to see them. Lots of hugs and kisses (not two sides, just one).
Cecilia, my host mom, has already told me to call her "Mama" and sometimes calls me "Angie" or "M'ija" (mi hija, or my daughter--you're all going to learn Spanish with me!!!) She and Octavio were waiting for me, and brought along their granddaughter Tania, who is a little older than me and studying nursing. Suddenly, it was all Spanish...and while I know I'm conjugating verbs incorrectly without abandon and my most common response when I don't know what else to say is "Oh, si?", they are all so patient with me. They've complimented me on my Spanish, which although feels quite undeserved, is really nice to hear. I have to say, the switching between Spanish and English can be very confusing, and I find that my thoughts are a mezcla (mix) of words from both languages...when communicating in English over Facebook or e-mail, I catch myself throwing in a Spanish word every once in awhile.
I've been trying really hard to ask if I don't understand something (and if I don't, I think my confusion's pretty clear on my face...my family repeats or tries to explain in a different way) and ask for the words for a lot of things I don't know, which seems to make Octavio proud. He speaks English, though, so if ever I'm having a really hard time with something, he breaks out the English, which is definitely a nice fall-back.
Here in Vina, I have my own little room with a view of the city and the ocean. I absolutely adore it (I also get my own bathroom--que sorpresa tan agradable!--what a nice surprise!). The departamento (apartment) is pretty small since it's usually just Octavio, Cecilia, and their dog, Luna (which means moon). Cecilia told me that she and Octavio have never hosted a student before, but their daughter Claudia has, and they decided to because it's fome (boring) without having other people in the house. This is just as new to them as it is to me, and they both really want me to feel at home.
Even though it's just a few of us living in the departamento, there are always people popping in and out, sometimes just for a few minutes. Looks like my family is going to be much larger than I thought! For future reference (and to help me remember), here's the low-down on mi familia chilena:
Octavio is a profesor at la Universidad de Vina and teaches electronics (which was extremely handy when it came to figuring out the adaptor--he got out this machine to test the voltage on my computer to make sure that it wouldn't "blow up" (he knew that English expression)). He's kind of quiet and at first was difficult for me to understand, but Mama Cecilia keeps telling him to "Speak slower!" The more I try to push my limits in Spanish and learn more, the more he seems to warm up to me. He's also missing half of his middle finger...I suppose I have 4 months to get the story!
Cecilia is an incredible cook. I will definitely not go hungry here...yesterday we were home in time for lunch...mashed potatoes, salad, meat, soup, and dessert, which was a thin layer of cake, bananas, and a caramel-pudding type topping....during my siesta all I could think was "I'm gonna be so fat by the time I leave" but dinners are a LOT lighter. And in fact, we talked about eating healthy that night (Norteamericanos are so fat!), so I don't think I have much to fear after all. I do know that I will return to the States having eaten enough palta (avocado) to last me a lifetime.
Luna is the sweetest, fluffiest toy poodle. She is quite the little diva with a little pink sweater (Chile is definitely chilly this time of year). Yesterday, she kept hopping up on my bed so I'd pet her--I think I'm gonna like having a dog!
Cecilia and Octavio have 3 married daughters:
Miriam and her husband live in Vina. They have 4 children, the oldest two are the only ones I haven't met. One of them is Luis, who studies law at the same university I'll attend. The girls I met were Maria Fernanda, 16, and Maria Paz, 6, both of whom are incredibly sweet.
Claudia lives in the same apartment complex and is hosting a student from California and another from St. John's. She and her husband have 3 daughers, Tania and Paulina/Toto (they are both close to my age) and Francisca, who's probably around 12. Last night, Pamela (the youngest daughter) and I went over to Claudia's apartment for a little while, where I tried Pisco sour (famous Chilean drink). We all toasted to "Salud." Claudia's husband asked what the translation in English is, and we said, "Cheers!" When he tried to say it at first, it sounded like "Shit"...He got it eventually, though, "like the bar in the television show!"
Pamela lives in the South with her husband and son, Benjamin, who is almost 1. She and Benjamin are visiting now and staying in the departamento with us. I'm going to miss them both, Pamela is really caring, funny, and great at explaining things to me. Benjamin is adorable and warmed up to me yesterday...he's got curly hair and long eyelashes, such a cutie.
Today has been pretty relaxing, we're going to head out to the mall in a bit so I can get a cell phone and some school supplies. I feel very grateful to have such a wonderful host family. I already feel like I've experienced a lot, and have been here only a little over 24 hours! Even still, I can already tell that these 4 months are absolutely going to fly by, and I'm excited to make the most of every minute of it!
Besos to you all!
Friday, August 14, 2009
Estoy en CHILE!
Right now, I am writing to you from the airport in Santiago, Chile.
I am in CHILE.
It's so crazy, I've been thinking about this for over a year, and now here I am.
Everything feels so surreal, and even though we went through immigration and customs (where I actually got to use some Spanish...pretty sure I spoke horribly, but hey, I made it through! And in fact, this one customs guy asked me if I spoke Spanish, so I'm going to read that as a sign that I look like someone who speaks Spanish), and even though I have Chilean pesos in my wallet, it feels like I'm in an airport like any other. In fact, the first thing I saw after leaving customs was the music video for Hot N Cold...nothing like Katy Perry to make you feel like you're still in the US.
We met up with most of the other students from St. Ben's/St. John's, and we're all waiting here (most of us on our laptops or frantically reading the books we're supposed to read for seminar) for the bus that'll take us from Santiago to Vina del Mar, where we'll meet up with our host families.
It's been a roller coaster (but I love roller coasters). I constantly switch between nervousness and excitement. It's been great having a large group of us here, and knowing that everyone basically feels the same way that I do...we're already commiserating and laughing over the mistakes we're sure to make, and informing each other of what words have a VERY different meaning in slang. We shared our last American meal together last night and had a lot of fun--can already tell it's going to be a great group.
Well, I'm going to pull out one of the many books I brought about Chile (won't look like a tourist AT ALL doing that....) to brush up on a little more Spanish for when I leave the international limbo that is the airport.
X's and O's to you all,
Angela
I am in CHILE.
It's so crazy, I've been thinking about this for over a year, and now here I am.
Everything feels so surreal, and even though we went through immigration and customs (where I actually got to use some Spanish...pretty sure I spoke horribly, but hey, I made it through! And in fact, this one customs guy asked me if I spoke Spanish, so I'm going to read that as a sign that I look like someone who speaks Spanish), and even though I have Chilean pesos in my wallet, it feels like I'm in an airport like any other. In fact, the first thing I saw after leaving customs was the music video for Hot N Cold...nothing like Katy Perry to make you feel like you're still in the US.
We met up with most of the other students from St. Ben's/St. John's, and we're all waiting here (most of us on our laptops or frantically reading the books we're supposed to read for seminar) for the bus that'll take us from Santiago to Vina del Mar, where we'll meet up with our host families.
It's been a roller coaster (but I love roller coasters). I constantly switch between nervousness and excitement. It's been great having a large group of us here, and knowing that everyone basically feels the same way that I do...we're already commiserating and laughing over the mistakes we're sure to make, and informing each other of what words have a VERY different meaning in slang. We shared our last American meal together last night and had a lot of fun--can already tell it's going to be a great group.
Well, I'm going to pull out one of the many books I brought about Chile (won't look like a tourist AT ALL doing that....) to brush up on a little more Spanish for when I leave the international limbo that is the airport.
X's and O's to you all,
Angela
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