So I will have been in Valdivia for over 3 weeks now and things are increasingly getting better! While sitting in the airport in Dallas awaiting my flight to Santiago, I was a little nervous as I really didn't know what to expect. Part of me felt like it would just be easier if the whole thing were over and I could just know that it was good. Now, I already don't want to go home.
I must say I have been pleasantly surprised that I have experienced no culture shock and zero home-sickness. I have been quite content with my host family and lifestyle, and other than some minor differences, living in Chile is not all that different the United States.
I think I lucked out on the weather here too. It hasn't rained near as much as I thought it would. We have been blessed with some nice sunny days, a few of which have been a little bit warm! Several times I have had to take my jacket off while walking down the street. Even though I have to return to the dreaded cold winter in a few months, I am so glad that I don't have to experience it's slow and tedious arrival. Instead I get to experience spring and look forward to beautiful weather. It has been a treat seeing trees blooming during September.
Here are some other pictures of the city I have taken on our nice days.
As for my Spanish, it is certainly improving! I still have not yet reached the point where I can understand everything, nor do I expect to for another month or so. But while I am not able to always follow conversations, I have found I have been doing better at picking out the words that are being said instead of hearing one long blurb. As for communicating, I still have a hard time speaking at times. However, I don't expect it to feel natural until the very end of the program.
One of the biggest blessings I have had is the opportunity to plug in with some local churches here. I love the kids in my program, but I will admit that hanging around them can be spiritually draining at times. It is so nice to have a christian community, and have people that think the same way I do. At one of the churches I have connected with some of the youth, some of whom attend university and others high school.
This past weekend I had an excellent time at my new friend Pablo's house. Friday night we had a game night and we ate a bunch of snacks, sat around and talked, and played cards until 4am! The next day he took me to go play "futbol," or "soccer," with some of the church kids. I didn't last long. I quickly remembered why I didn't like it as a kid. But I spent quite a bit of time with his girlfriend talking and watching. Suffice it to say I am grateful to have made some good friends here. And I can assure you spending time with them has been helping my Spanish a lot.
I will have my next blog soon as next week we have our spring break, which is when Chile celebrates its Independence Day. It's a huge deal here. I will be going to Valparaiso for the week with some students from the program, and I hope to visit Santiago and a couple other locations that are all around there. More pictures and stories to come!
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