Day 1, otra vez

It has been 10 days since I have last blogged. Orientation has been hectic, fun-filled, and exhausting, which has left me too tired to blog. (Basically, I'm a lot lazier than the other 19 people on this trip and my blog has taken a back seat to checking facebook, e-mail, and spending time on iChat. Also, the group has bonded significantly over our mutual frustration with charlas (lectures that usually drone on for an hour and a half) and lack of wireless access in the Hostel, which has distracted me from my duties (of blogging, not that anyone reads this anyway)).

Today is the day the group split up and moved in with respective host families. It was pretty nerve-wracking because we were all gearing up for round two of culture shocks. We were abandoning all the comfort and routine we had created over the last two weeks and had no idea what lay ahead. Short Chilean women filed into the makeshift lobby of Hostel International and eagerly awaited their $300.000 peso prize. (That's the compensation they get per month for agreeing to host us Americanos.) I kid... The host mothers that I met were the nicest people you could imagine meeting. They were so warm, friendly, and excited to open their homes (and lives) to us. I got more cheek-kisses today from women I have never seen before than my own extended family at a Thanksgiving gathering. (Thanksgiving...just that word adds to the intensity of this experience (More on that later, after the film, at 11.).)

My story is a bit of a saga for only having been in the country for two weeks. When I arrived, I had been assigned a family that lived in Vitacura, a high-class neighborhood nestled between the edges of Santiago and the foothills of the Andes. In Santiago, the higher up you live, the weathier you tend to be. Something had gone awry with the room I was supposed to be staying in, so the program director had to find me a new place to live. She transferred me to a family in La Providencia, an upper-middle class neighborhood just west of the center of the metropolis that is Santiago. My chilean friend Tania, whom I lived with in the Spaish House at Tufts last year, recommended that I request to live in La Providencia. So, it was a trade-off. Sacrifice the wealthy Jewish family for a comfortable home located much closer to the other students on the program and to the campuses, AND, it was in the town that Tania had recommended, so all was great. They also had a dog, so that was exciting. About 12 days after getting reassigned to the family in Providencia, I was informed that there was another change. A pipe burst in my bathroom at the second house and the program director had to find me a third place to live. Basically, I have had three host families since I got here two weeks ago and, at this point, hadn't met a single one of them.

Today I moved into a spacious house in El Golf, a tranquil part of Las Condes (un barrio de Santiago). My host mother is away on business till Tuesday and wasn't able to pick me up at the Hostel like all the other kids, so the program director took me to my house. There, I met one of the sons who, I believe, lives in the area with his wife. There is another son who, I believe, is skiing and will be back later this afternoon. They have a 15 year-old cousin from France studying here until November, so he was here to. He arrived this morning, so it's a hectic weekend for the family. They have a friendly dog that they call Herni because she has a hernia. She lives outside, even in this weather.

The house is nice, cold, comfy. It reminds me a lot of a lake house in the U.S. because it has a very steep staircase and many small rooms. My bedroom is rather large and I'm pretty sure I also have my own bathroom. It's palacial in comparison to Tufts dorms, Hostel International, and in some aspects, even my room at home. (I hope I can keep this optimism up for the next 6 months.)

I arrived, unpacked, and sat down to a delicious lunch. My host brother cooked fish and herbs, sauteed zucchini, and served salad and a fresh apple for dessert. It was delicious. I hadn't had hot food that wasn't from a restaurant in two weeks. I am the kind of person who always likes to eat out. Going to restaurants is fun, but after eating like that for two weeks, you just get sick of it. I never thought it could happen, but it did.
Anyway, me and my host cousin, se llama Pierre (remember, he's from France...), had lunch together and chatted about random things (school mostly).

Who knows what the afternoon and evening will bring, but it should be fun. Hopefully I can make blogging a habit, but right now, I'm working on making flossing a habit.

Chau,
Dan

Para los que le gustan los dos idiomas de mis cuentos, regresarán en el próximo. Era importate que yo contara este cuento en ingles porque es un etapa muy interesante de la experiencia y algunas personas que leen este blog tiene que entender todo que digo. Gracias para su paciencia. Abrazos para todos mis amigos.