6,500 Miles From Home

So, as many of you know, I am in Chile! I can't believe I'm here! I've been anticipating this trip for 2 and a half years now. I imagine it will go by fast. Before coming, I was blessed to be able to spend some time with my Summit friend Blake in a tiny little town outside of Dallas, Texas before coming to Chile. I was so blessed being able to fellowship with him and his family before departing on this journey.

My flight to Santiago was great. Only 9 and a half hours. Piece of cake. I had a window seat, and the seat next to me was unoccupied, which gave me extra room to sleep. I dozed in and out for probably 4-5 hours on the flight. When we landed we were greeted with balmy 48 degree weather, clouds, and rain.

After arriving I was a little confused after exiting customs and getting my bags. I had to go back upstairs and check in with LAN Airlines for my next flight. Thankfully I had a man show me everywhere I needed to go. Unfortunately, and unbeknownst to me, he was also seeking a tip. The smallest bill I had was a 5.000 peso bill, or about $10. Not cheap. At least he was helpful.

Before going to bed last night I took a shower. In order to get hot water, I have to turn on the water heater, and then light a match to start the flame. I then have to turn it to the temperature I want. I have been told you must be careful because it can either be really cold or really hot. Unfortunately I only got lukewarm. Hopefully I can figure it out and get hot water next time!

Also, Chileans heat their homes with a wood fireplace because electricity is expensive here. So basically even inside the house it is kind of cold. I always wear a jacket inside. That is basically the only thing I don't like about Chile. Thankfully I have a bunch of blankets on my bed, so I sleep warm.

I also have felt like going to bed around 6-7pm. I think it is because I am used to the sun setting around 8-9pm, and I forget that because it is winter here it sets between 5-6pm. So if always feels like 10 or 11pm and I look and its only 7pm!

Another thing that is opposite about the southern hemisphere is that when the water drains, it spins in the opposite direction. I experienced this personally, having watched it spin to the left while in Texas, and then watching it spin to the right after taking a shower last night. So EPIC!

I went to the "supermercado," or supermarket with my host mom last night to get some things. It looked just like a supermarket in the States. Tons of food. The prices looked like this: "3.400" or "1.500" pesos. For those of you who don't know, for each dollar you get almost 500 pesos. They also use periods instead of commas to divide the numbers. So my first bank withdrawal was 100.000 pesos!

Today we had an orientation in the morning going over some of the basic things we need to be aware of. One of which was the "saludos," or "greetings." In Chile, people meet each other with a "beso," or "kiss" on the cheek. I always remember it, but only AFTER I realize what's happening, so it still surprises me.

They took us to a restaurant by the river today called "Agridulce." It was amazing, with more food than I have ever eaten at a restaurant. Everyone was filled to overflowing. They had a huge fire pit which of course felt good. We ate rolls, salad, these fried shrimp ravioli things, meatballs, and some other little bread thing. That was just the appetizers. I then had a delicious piece of salmon with vegetables. Then we had dessert, which I could not finish, which was a chocolate brownie and vanilla ice cream, or "helado." Also, they served wine, which I decided to try. Blah!!! I tried to drink a little bit because it is good for you, but I could barely do it.

Afterwords a bunch of us went to the mall with our Chilean "guides" to buy cell phones, or "celulares." We all got one with Entel, a popular Chilean cell phone company. We all exchanged phone numbers, and might go exploring the city together tomorrow because we have a day off.

Overall, I have already learned several new words. I won't bore you due to space, but if I retain like 3 words per day, I will learn well over 300 words while I'm here!

So much to say, so little space. More things to come. But suffice it to say, I'm having a great time thus far!

One Week and Counting!

I just returned late Monday night from a trip back to the Midwest visiting several family members, and as I unpack from that trip I must start packing for my next trip one week from today! I cannot believe that I am leaving in one week! It still has not hit me yet what I am doing, much to my surprise.

Many things happened while in the Midwest. I had three documents that had to be notarized and thumb printed and sent to the Chilean Consulate in San Francisco. I only got them by email the day before leaving, so I had to do it while back there. Apparently the Consulate did not find it necessary to point out that the documents would have to be re-sized to fit on regular printer paper, so we did not notice this discrepancy until the Consulate contacted me while in St. Louis telling me they would not accept what I sent them because they were not "complete." So I had to do it again! After nearly $80 in overnight shipping costs they finally accepted them and sent me my VISA. It took a lot of blood, sweat, and tears to get this small little piece of paper to be placed in my passport. Finally!

I also got my housing assignment, which I am very pleased with. I will be living with Señora Aruti and her father. She is in her mid 40s and is an English Professor at the University (I suppose that might come in handy at some point). Much to my joy, it is a non-smoking house! Apparently many people smoke there, which I would imagine is a result of Chile's high tobacco production. From what I got from the profile, they seem to be very nice people and I look forward to meeting them. I received an email from my host mom and I was so excited that I understood everything she said to me! Praise the Lord! It makes me so much more excited to continue to develop my Spanish. I was also pleased to find that they live within walking distance of the University. Its about a 15 minute walk, so I might take the bus (also known as a "micro" in Chile. pronounced "mee-cro") during the first half of the semester when it is cold and rainy. They do not live on Isla Teja as I was thinking. They live just a few blocks from downtown so overall the location looks great to me!

I have a few more things to figure out before leaving, such as buying a power adapter, registering my trip with the U.S. Embassy, and of course registering to vote absentee! As we all know, we have an important election year coming up, and I intend on taking part, and keeping up with things while away. It will certainly be interesting to watch this presidential election from another country in another part of the world.

It is hard to believe that in less than two weeks I will be starting school!! Where did the summer go? I guess the question is not where summer went, but "why am I leaving it behind?" I fully expect to be greeted by what the Valdivia locals call "Valluvia." (lluvia is Spanish for "rain") This place gets more rain on average than Seattle. It will probably be cold too. Sad face. But what the heck, I'll be in Chile! It will be awesome. And I'll get some warm weather again soon. I just have to wait to get my suntan until December. :)

I have been surprised how many people think I will come back tan, believing Chile to be particularly "warm." When I think of Chile, I think of Cape Horn and the glaciers at the southern end. That makes me think of something cold. Besides, it will be end of winter. Since when is winter warm? It should be noted, that Chile does have a very diverse climate, being very hot and sunny in the North, and very cold and wet in the South. I will be towards the southern part, so it will never get terribly hot. I will be lucky to see 80 degrees in Valdivia while I'm there. In Santiago I will almost for sure. We'll find out!