Confieso Que He Vivido-Pablo Neruda

I am now settled into my new house and pretty well acquainted with my host family in Santiago. I must confess that I truly believe I am one of the luckiest volunteers! Not only do I live with one of the other volunteers (Cat) who is one of the coolest chicks in the program, but I also have an incredible host family! My host mom is Margarita (Margee); she is very patient and very generous. We are allowed free reign in the house and it seems as though, as long as she knows where we are, she doesn't mind us being out until whenever. Even though Cat and I have a a difficult time speaking Spanish, she does everything she can to help us. Our host brother, Daniel (Danni) is also bacan (really cool)! He took us out on our first day to show us around Santiago and where to go to get to our classes on Monday. Danni is 25 and had the opportunity to travel and live in Buenos Aires. I love hearing all of his stories about traveling and the people he met. He's also pretty patient with our blunders and misunderstandings, but i also think he enjoys messing with us when we're out of our element and super confused. ;) He's been a great big bro and super protective. Margee has another son, Roberto, who normally lives here, but during the time that they are hosting us, he is living with his girlfriend. He has a daughter as well, Izadora who is 4 years old. She is so precious and captured my heart the moment I met her. She was very excited to tell me everything she thought and all about her and her papi (dad). It's funny because I understand everything she says, well at least much more than most people. I'm pretty sure this is because I'm about at the same vocab level as a 4 year old! She doesn't live here, but I always look forward to her visits.
Margee also has 2 pets: a 14 year old poodle mix, Ila & a 2 month old kitten, Catalina/Chiquitita (means: really little girl). Chiquitita is very mischevious and playful, but when she crashes, her favorite spot is on someone's lap. =D The house we live in is very nice. There is plenty of space for the 4 of us and wifi! We have a beautiful terrace/backyard with a table and chairs where I love to read or skype or just relax. My room is simple with a bed, and closet space. It is usually Roberto's room so there is still a bunch of his stuff there. The home is very comfortable and very safe. The dogs on the streets (sooooo many everywhere!) bark all night long so I am very thankful for my travel noise maker that my dad lent me!

So far, I have not once felt unsafe or as though I was in danger. I definitely get looks and sometimes burning stares (that's what I get for going back to blonde), but I'm always very aware of my surroundings. I'm almost always with other people from my group or at least with Cat, but on the rare occasion I'm traveling alone, I do my best to fade into the other people (again very difficult with my hair). The only place I worry about anyone trying to take my stuff is in the center of Santiago so I keep my backpack in the front.

I've gotten to try some fantastic foods here. Both my host mom and brother are incredible cooks.  One night, we had a dish called chaquicat (*sp) with corn, meat, potatoes, and squash. Tonight, I had mini pizzas with cheese and tomato. Eating out is very difficult because none of it is healthy. The options tend to be filled with fatty meat, white bread, mayonnaise, and sugary juices. I'm learning how to customize my orders to be a little less painful for my digestive system.

My Spanish classes are going pretty well. I ended up getting place in the intermediate class which made me really excited but a bit nervous. I'm working really hard to learn all of the new vocabulary and grammar and also to recall what I've learned in the past. I feel as though I'm slightly drowning as I try to swim upward. Of course it takes time, but I really wish I remembered more from high school and college. Everyone says that for a while you feel like you hit a wall and then you wake up and realize that you're fluent...hopefully I wake up soon!

The city of Santiago reminds me very much of some of the cities I visited in Europe. Many of the buildings are very old, but surrounded by very new modern structures. Santiago is much cleaner than I expected, and much easier to navigate as well. The metro system is comparable to the best of Europe and within only a few days, I feel very comfortable getting around the city. I look forward to a day this week when I will do some exploring around the city to see more.

Today, the whole group from the program went to Cerro San Cristobal & La Casa de Pablo Neruda. Cerro San Cristobal is a beautiful place in which you can ride in a cart very high and then walk even higher. From the top, you can see all of Santiago. The beautiful view is breath taking. La Casa de Pablo Neruda is one of his houses that has been turned into a museum. We received a tour and learned many interesting facts about his life. 

Fortunately, I'm not really struggling with homesickness. I think this is partly due to the family atmosphere here and the ability to speak English with Cat when I need to. Also, the blessings of Skype and email have made me feel as though I'm not that far away. The culture here really fits well into my life and I feel very at home here. Of course, I miss everyone very much and wish I could share more of this experience with you, but I am so blessed to be given the opportunity to participate in this program.

If you have any questions about my experience, please feel free to ask and I'll try to write about it in my blog...my email is lindseyb007@gmail.com