Cultural Events

During this three-week Intensive Language Program we have had the opportunity to go on many cultural field trips with our tutores. There are about 12 tutores who are Chilean students that attend either Universidad de Chile o La Catolica. There are about 10 students in my group and it is our tutor's job to show us the youth culture of Chile. She takes us out to dinners sometimes and around the city and speaks with us to improve our Spanish. My tutor's name is Camila, and one night she took us to this authentic Chilean restaurant that we had to take the metro to. We got off and walked through these cobblestone streets to an alley. The entrance to the restaurant was in the alley and there were three stories to this restaurant. I got this amazing fish platter that looked so pretty when I got it that I felt guilty for eating it. We played a get-to-know-you game and spoke Spanish all night. We also went to Concha y Toro with our tutors which is a famous vineyard in Santiago. We got to taste some wines and I even bought a Shiraz Rose from the winery. It was quite delicious and the price was right (Dad, I know you'd appreciate that.) Finally, this week we also went to La Moneda which is the Chilean White House basically. We got a tour of the premises and I could smell the history. The tour was entirely in Spanish but I got most of the information. Numbers and dates are one of my biggest challenges because it is a lot to compute at the same time. But it is nice to challenge my brain sometimes...I stress the "sometimes". haha We have one more cultural experience with our tutores planned before the ILP ends on July 18th. It is a museum day on Tuesday, and I will tell you guys how much I learn. :)

Cerro San Cristobal

The day after the rain stopped was the day that Molly, Jeanny, and I decided to explore our little community que se llama La Reina. We walked around the cute little suburban neighborhood and tried to learn all the streets. Maggie spent about 30 mins drawing me a very detailed map and helping me to understand where I am in relation to all I had seen so far in Santiago. After us ladies were done exploring, I got a call from Annie saying that a ton of people were going to Cerro San Cristobal. Cerro means hill in Spanish and this hill is in the middle of the metropolistic city of Santiago. We decided to go and it ended up that about 15 other people from our program had the same idea. We hiked up for about 15 mins until we got to the top where there is a towering ivory-white statue of the Virgen Mary. It was an amazing view as you can see from the pictures.

Misa, Malls, and Mis Botas Nuevas

Learning, learning, learning. That is something that I have had to get used to doing...A LOT! Every single day I am doing stuff that is new to me. I am taking the METRO places...can you believe it? I have also figured all of the streets around my community and have even gone on 3 runs so far. I know how to walk to the bus and take that bus to La Catolica where we have our classes. I am speaking in Spanish with Maggie every day and really getting better. I am meeting new people which is also a learning experience. I am learning the foods, the slang, the clubs, the customs, and the list goes on. I decided to title this blog entry thusly because there are three exciting things that I want you all to know.

First, Maggie and I go to misa every Sunday together. Misa is the word for Catholic mass and the place is always packed. Since I was raised Catholic, I am used to how the service runs but I just don't know all the prayers and refrains in Spanish. Still, it is such a nice service and it is very humbling to be literally the only tall, blonde person in the crowd. But all are welcome in the church, right? :) Last Sunday Maggie took Annie and I to the mall in Los Condes. Los Condes is the community known for the amount of rich people or "quecas" that live there. As you can guess, this was a REALLY nice mall. I finally bought some boots and they are REAL leather and super comfy. When I wear them, I feel like a total santiaguina...and I look good too! hehe

It rained like crazy this past weekend! There was rivers in the streets! But it stopped once our classes for the week started, and now it is just super cold. At least its not wet though. The cold here is like deep-down-in-your-bones cold. Luckily I have great tolerance for the cold (if you are reading this and your last name is Linehan, you understand why I have developed a resistance to cold!). Thus as long as I layer up and wrap my scarf around my neck about 3 times, yo puedo casi evitar el frio. Speaking of cold, I have a great friend with whom I am able to share the painful walk to school with every morning. Her name is Jeanny and she is like 4 houses down from me. She is from UC Riverside and speaks Spanish fluenty. Besides that, she is just a really cool girl and the other night her and Anna stopped by the house and we all talked until 4 in the morning! I am surround by a ton of cool people here...both Chilean and Estadounidense. Can't wait to see what else is in store for me here.

Mi madre Maggie

I have to say that without a doubt I am the luckiest girl in the entire program. My mama's name is Maggie Diaz, and she is such an amazing woman. As said previously, I am the 40th student that has stayed in her house. She is a widow with no children, but all of the students who have stayed with her over the years have become her children. She is always talking about all the amazing adventures that her "kids" are now doing. We often sit at night for hours drinking coffee and looking at the pictures of a certain student that has stayed with her. She also talks about history, politics, her life experiences, her intuitions about certain people, religion, YOU NAME IT!! I often forget that we are both speaking Spanish during our talks because when I am sitting there with my cafe con leche at the table with lovely Maggie, I just get this sense of belonging. I feel like it is just another sign that God has given me to show that this is exactly where I am supposed to be. A sign to show me that at this point in my life, I am supposed to be challenged in this new city with a new language, new friends, and a new family.

I recently asked Maggie about staying in her home after my Intensive Language Program and she said that she would love to have me stay here! I was super excited because I feel very comfortable here and I look forward to having a permanent home during my time in Santiago. PLUS Maggie says that she loves having kids stay here because we make her life exciting. The guy would I mentioned before who took me to get ice cream and my BIP card has been here since January. He actually just left yesterday for a one month trip around South America and then he will be returning to San Diego where he goes to school. Maggie said that it was very hard to say good bye to him because he has been here for so long. In a way, I feel that by staying here I will be her new Kyle! :) Hope I can measure up because he is a pretty great guy. I look forward to spending my time at Maggie's house and getting her view on life because it is a very interesting one. What a lucky girl I am.

Intensive Language Program

Before we left for Chile, we had to complete a diagnostic Spanish test. Upon arriving, we were placed in groups of 4 to prepare for the oral diagnostic test. We had to choose 3 themes to talk about then they would choose the theme that they wanted us to have a conversation about for 10 minutes. Maggie was so sweet because she knew that I was really nervous for the oral examination so we talked about the three different themes before she drove me to school! :) I ended up placing into Intermediate Advanced. It has turned out to be the perfect level for me because it is a little bit challenging but I am keeping up with everything thus far. Classes are 5 days a week for the next 3 weeks. We concentrate a lot on grammar as well as vocabulary, canciones, audiovisual media such as watching and analyzing Chilean movies, and we also talk alot about Chilean culture and politics. I am learning SO MUCH about the city that I am going to live in for the next 6 months. My teachers name is Margot and she served 8 years in the Peace Corps teaching Spanish in various countries. Aside from this, she has the most sophisticated fashion sense of anyone I have ever met. haha It is so true though...that woman knows how to dress! I feel that this Intensive Language Program has give me a lot of confidence with my Spanish speaking. I know that it is greatly preparing me for life at a Chilean university for 5 months. I am trying to learn all that I can and really taking advantage of this opportunity I have been given to study in this beautiful country!

Algarrobo

After a few days of settling into our new family stay and our new home, we set out on a two day orientation to Algarrobo. This is a small beach town that was practically a ghost town while we were there. This is because it is winter in Chile, but it was cool because it was like we had a hotel to ourselves. The place was beautiful! Roaring fire in the fireplace, antique furniture, and great food! Annie and I had a room on the first floor and Annie didn't feel comfortable to be down there so we asked for a change of room. The new one was on the 4th floor with an ocean view so we were both happy that we said something! :) Those days passed fast but basically it was just a chance to meet a lot of cool people, get all the information about the EAP program, our future Chilean university, and all that fun stuff...

After getting back from the Algarrobo trip, Annie invited me over to spend the night. I was SUPER tired but it ended up being fun. A group of us just drank some vino and had a heart-to-heart. The next day we explored Providencia which is a comuna with a ton of shopping. We went to a two story ice cream store that reminded me of the movie Good Burger...except if this place was in a movie, it would be called Good Ice Cream. I took my first taxi home from Annie's after a fun day in Providencia. I was scared at first to take a taxi at night and worried that I wouldn't be able to find my house. But one of the many things I have learned here is that it is scary to do something new for the first time. Then the next time is easier...and the next time is even easier. You just have a keep an open mind and an open heart while you are experiencing a new culture because literally EVERYTHING is something that you have to learn!

Departure Day

Hey everyone! I hope that this travel blog will allow all of my friends and family to feel they are a part of my adventure here in South America. I have been in Santiago for 3 weeks now...mas o menos...but either way the time really has flown by! My goal now is to think back on what has happened these past few weeks as there has been a whirlwind of action. I left the US on June 21st at 1:15 pm. It was so hard to say goodbye to the family, but I was lucky to have my travel buddy Annie who could share in all the same things that I was feeling. We had a 4 hour flight to Mexico City, waited 4 hours there, and then jumped on a swanky LAN plane headed to Chile.

Upon arriving at the Campus Oriente at Pontificio Universidad Catolica, we began meeting tons of kids from the program. There are students here from all the different UC's and there are 68 of us in total! At 12:00 noon, we met our host families and I was SO SCARED! All of the families were waiting outside of the open doors and all of us US students were waiting inside with all of our luggage. They would call off a name and the kid would go forward and be greeted by a smiling "mama" who would then take them back to their house and make sure they felt comfortable.

My mama's name is Margarita Diaz, but she goes by Maggie. She said that I am the 40th student that has stayed in her house. Also, one of the first things that she asked me was if there was anything I needed at the moment. I confessed I was really thirsty. So without hesitation she stopped at a store that is only 1 block from the house and bought me two big bottles of water. When we got home, we got lunch and she just made sure that I was comfortable. I found out there are two other American students at the house, and one of them came home shortly after his introduction. We ended up going to the hospital to get a Yellow Fever shot for his trip to Brazil, but after this, Kyle and I walked to the metro to buy my BIP transportation card. He also showed me a really good ice cream shop which I will have to stop by again! It was a great first day in Santiago!