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
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