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Published: August 22nd 2010
AirAndes
The Andes Mountains as seen from the air. INCREDIBLE.WOW. I’m here! Holy cow, I still can’t quite believe it….I’m in CHILE! Something like six thousand miles away from good ol’ Rice Lake. Hmm…I suppose I oughta update you on what’s happened since my last blog, huh?*
*Note: Just a warning that I am an extremely long-winded person when it comes to writing. So now you’ve been warned for this and subsequent blogs :P
SO, I last I got a call last week saying that my visa was finally ready, and I had to pick it up from the Chilean Consulate in Chicago at 9:30 Friday morning. My parents and I drove down to Chicago Thursday night and picked the visa up the next morning. I found out shortly thereafter that I would be leaving at 4:00 PM on Thursday, August 19th. I spent the next week packing and tying up loose ends and then…The 19th was here.
I could hardly sleep the night before leaving—as could be expected, I suppose—and woke up at 5:00 AM. I lay in bed for a while, letting everything wash over me, soaking in the details of my room that I knew I would not see again for about a year. I
Reception
Sol, Myself, and Leonel in the Santiago Airport finally got up, and my parents and little brother and I had breakfast—pancakes with peanut butter and maple syrup, a glass of milk, and fresh fruit. I make note of what I ate because that was my last home-cooked meal I was going to have for quite a while. My grandparents and great uncle then came to my house to send me off, we loaded my bags into the car, and we were on our way to the Twin Cities.
At the airport my family and I delayed our parting for as long as we thought we could, but finally I checked my bags and went through security into the terminal, waving a last goodbye to my parents and little brother. I was to fly from Minneapolis to Atlanta, and then take another plan from Atlanta to Santiago. I found my way to gate G22 and sat down—2:30, I had an hour and a half before my flight left. Or so I thought. On my way back to the waiting room I saw that my flight was delayed until 4:43 (how they come up with these times I’ll never know). After waiting a while, the flight was finally ready
to be boarded. As I stood in line, a man on the same flight walked up to me and introduced himself as a Rotary member from Tennessee, and asked if I needed help with anything. I was shocked—those Rotary blazers really work!!! It was really cool to see Rotary in action, through such a small gesture.
My plane landed in Atlanta, where I met a group of other Rotary Exchange students on their way to Chile. Considering that I had been expecting to be flying the entire trip by myself, the dozen or so new friends were certainly welcome. We boarded our plane at 9:00, as expected, but then the frustration began. A large team of Quebecker skiiers got on board, and crowded the aisles, delaying seating. Then, an announcement was made that there was another delay because the ski team’s luggage had to be transferred from a different plane. A while later, there was yet another announcement made saying that each bag of luggage had to be checked due to a new federal law. Finally, at around 11:40 we took off.
The next morning we landed in Santiago around 8:30, all of us exhausted from lack of
La Plaza
The central plaze of La Ligua, which is about two blocks from my house sleep (I think I slept about an hour). All the other Rotary kids had to take yet another connecting flight, but I was lucky. I was found by the Rotary Youth Exchange coordinator, Leonel Valensuelo Fernandez, and his wife, Sol. Leonel and Sol helped three other exchange students get set for their flights, and then I he and Sol drove me to my host city of La Ligua, which is about an hour and a half drive northwest of Santiago.
As we were driving into La Ligua, there was a definite point at which I felt it really hit me; that I was in Chile—the place I’d been preparing to go to for a year—at last. As we drove past the central plaza of La Ligua my breath caught in my throat and my hand flew to my mouth. I had seen pictures of the plaza on Google Earth and had shown my friends and family pictures, and suddenly I was THERE. “Oh my God…” was all I could say. It was incredible. I snapped several pictures and then moments later we parked in front of my new home. Leonel and Sol came inside with me and I met
Welcom Alex
My host mom, Jacqueline, and I. (They couldn't find the other "E" when they were decorating :P) my host mom Jacqueline, host-grandma Mercedes (though I call her “Mami”), and housekeeper Delia for the first time. All of us had lunch together, and afterwards Leonel and Sol left.
Jacqueline then took me to a store a few blocks away to buy my school uniform. It took me a while to understand how exactly the uniform system worked, but I finally figured it out (I think): Mondays and Fridays you need to wear the more formal uniform (consisting of black shoes, gray slacks, a white polo, and a navy blue sweater), and the other days you can either wear that or the “busa” (black shoes, grey sweatpants, navy blue t-shirt, and navy blue jacket or pullover). Apparently there is an even more formal uniform that is only used once or twice a year that has a white button up shirt and tie, but that’s only used once or twice a year.
When we got home, several of my host brother Nickolas’ friends surprised me, and we had tea and cake and sat around and talked for quite a while—people here are SO amiable A little later the two other Rotary exchange students in La Ligua showed up: Olivia,
First Meal
My first meal in Chile--Rice, turkey thighs, a sort of potato salad, regular salad (they use lemon and oil for dressing), and (not pictured) empanadas--the traditional Chilean food! (there WILL be pictures of them later, promise) from Germany; and Kira, from Denmark. Both of them speak relatively little Spanish, and, for the three of us at least, English tends to be the easiest language in which to communicate (I totally lucked out there :D)
So…that’s where I’m at right now. I’m already noticing that Spanish is becoming more natural and in fact I’m finding it surprisingly easy to comprehend and even think in Spanish. I guess my parents sending me to Monterrey after 8th grade helped a lot more than I realized.
Another kinda random but interesting thing about Chile is that tea is an absolutely fundamental part of life. I’ve been here for less than a day and can already tell that :P
Anyway…I guess I’ll post this and do another blog later! Chau!
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Papi
non-member comment
WOW!! you are really there Alex.
I can read your blog and I get to re-live the feeling I once had when I first arrived in Wisconsin the summer of 1981. WOW!!! You will have an awesome experience in Chile. Unique to your life with all the ups and downs lessons and the whole"chicken caboodle" : ) I have many things to ask and say, No!, really?????, but I will hold for your timming ( Gulp?)I love you and I am soooooo proud of you. Call, email, facebook ( easiest) if you need anything. Papi