mi familia

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My host mom, Marcela, picked me up at the airport. I was really nervous. What if I didn't like my family? 4 months is so long to live with a strange family. What would their house be like? etc.etc.etc.etc. My family has had many exchange students before me which makes me feel a lot better. My host mom drives a red ford focus. We live about a 10 minute drive from the airport. There is a big gate that opens to let you into where our house is. There are 10 house in our gate. We live in house #8. The streets are narrow and rough. Most of the houses in the city are yellow. We pulled into the narrow drive way next to our house. Nobody else was home except for Nana, the maid. My host mom showed me my room and then took my bags to my room. I am on the 3rd level. The living room is also on the third level. My host parents and host brothers rooms are on the second level. There is also a bathroom on that level. The first level is an office, a family room, the kitchen, the dining room, and another bathroom.
I began to unpack my stuff. I unpacked until around 1. Then it was time to eat lunch. My host dad, Jorge, came home to eat. We ate delicious fish and potatoes. There was also salad and fresh squeezed apple juice. After eating we had tea and bread. My host mom and dad went back to work after lunch. They both work the University of Concepcion. When they left I took a shower. You have to light a heater to have hot water in the shower. Its definetly not like hot water in the U.S. After I showered I took a nap before my host brothers came home. My host brothers get home from school around 4pm most days unless the have a sports practice. Cristobal is 13 and Sebastian is 11. They play rugby, tennis and soccer. I didn't talk to my brothers much but I figure it will take a while to get to know them. They both can speak english but would rather speak spanish.
When my host mom came home from work we went to the super market. I was so surprised at how many of the same products they have as the U.S. and a lot of them are in english. The same with the airports too, everything was in english and spanish. I don't feel too out of place. Not yet anyways! I bought shampoo, conditioner, hair spray and soap at the super market. The store is called Hyper Lider. After we got home I went to the mall with my host dad to get a cell phone. I got a pay as you go phone with Entel. I got the cheapest phone because I really only need it to call and text for the next 4 months so I didn't need anything fancy. It cost 19900 pesos which is around $25. Its a black samsung flip phone. It doesn't have a camera or even a screen on the outside. When you buy things on a credit card here they ask you if you want to pay "sin quotas". That means if you want, they will break up the total and charge you so much per month, instead of all at once. weird. haha.
When we returned from the mall I ate a ham sandwich. Then we got my laptop to connect to the internet. I used my host brothers computer to e-mail my parents earlier to let them know I arrived safely. I talked to my mom on skype and later to becca. Its great that the time difference is only one hour. I miss everyone a lot but I think I am going to have a blast here.
I went to bed, sooooo tired from traveling. I was so tired... I slept until 11 am. My parents were at work and my brothers at school so it was just me and Nana. My host mom came home around 12 and we went to the mall because she needed something. She showed me where another girl from my program, Jessica Arensman, lived on the way back. We returned around 1 and she went back to work. Before she left she called Jessicas host mom to see if we wanted to do something this afternoon but her mom didn't want to bring her.
I ate lunch around 1:30. Nana made a vegetable soup with croutons in it. There was also salad and fresh apple juice. Then she served french fries (homemade of course) and I think it was duck, lol, but it was good. Nana is such a sweetheart. She was making pancakes also and I might go get some right now and have some tea!
Tomorrow we have a meeting at the University. I can't wait to see everyone and to explore the university. I have no idea what my class schedule is like. I also can't wait to be able to explore the city. My host mom says we can go see things this weekend like the sea :D I can't wait! Hasta Luego!

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Photos

Photo 1
my bed

Photo 8
living room

Photo 2
game room

Photo 3
stairs

Photo 4
out my bedroom window

Photo 5
room to the bodega and the turtles

Photo 6
out the game room window

Photo 7
second floor landing

Photo 9
office

Photo 10
dining room