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!