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Published: March 4th 2013
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Well, I have sucessfully made it to Viña Del Mar! My group and I spent last weekend in Santiago and on Sunday we took a bus ride of only about an hour and a half to Valparaíso, the city adjoining Viña del Mar. That day I met my first host family. They were very nice, but it became clear early on that it was not going to work out. Thankfully, the university I will be attending (which is also in charge of placing students with host families) and the director of my program were very helpful in finding me another host family. I now live in a neighborhood called called "recreo" and it has been a wonderful place to live so far! I have about a 2 minute walk to a great ocean lookout, and maybe 10 or 15 minutes to the shoreline. I cannot stop telling people how much I love the ocean! It is so beautiful!
This week was a bit of an atypical week, as we met every day as a group. We had to take care of some things such as applying for our visa (It is officially legal for me to be here for the
next 5 months!) and signing up for classes. The university also gave a welcome speech to all 300 or so international exchange students they will be having this semester. They told us it was the most they have ever had in a semester! I am happy to be a part of the group😊
Speaking of classes, they start next week. Generally, I am not excited for classes to start, but this time it is different. I am looking forward to starting my class as I will 1. Meet new people, 2. continue to work on my Spanish, and 3. get into a routine. If you have been keeping in touch with me, you probably will have heard me talk about a routine. I have enjoyed this free time and chance to explore, but I have also felt uncomfortable and, at times, unsure of what I should be doing and whatnot. Sometimes I feel like, Ok I made it here and...now what? Of course there is plenty to do! It is just about going out there and finding it.
This week I had the chance to go to two different beaches, 2 different "markets" or "fairs," a few different
flower clock
Near one of the beaches my friends and I have gone to. restaurants, and some beautiful plazas and parks. The total population of these two cities combined is over 500,000 people, which, considering I am from a city of 25,000, has been unusual for me! Not only to do I have to adapt to the language, but also to everything that goes along with "big city life." This includes transportation. There are three main ways of public transportation: the metro, the buses, and collectivos. The metro is the easiest to use, in my opinion, because it always goes to the same stops. However, if where I want to go is not near one the stops, the metro is not too convenient. The collectivos are interesting in that they are taxis, but they have routes like buses. So if I am somewhere in Valpo or Viña and want to take a collectivo back to my house, I need to find one that is going to my neighborhood, Recreo. The buses are by far the craziest, but in general they work the same as the collectivos. However, there is only one bus in both the cities that goes to my neighborhood, so when I need to get home by bus, I have just get
View of hill in Valpo
at least I think it is Valpo...could be Viña. dropped off at the closest metro station to me, unless I were to get quite lucky. I am starting to understand how this all works, but I still have a lot to learn!
A few random thoughts: the avacados here are plentiful and delicious. I eat avacado basically every day, on a piece of bread or sandwich. The weather is beatiful. Generally in the 70s with an ocean breeze, and the fact that it is light until about 9 is wonderful too! The bus drivers here, though generally quite nice, are also crazy. When you want to get off you stand up and push a button, then he swings to the side of the road with little regard for human life (slight exgerration😊), and lets you off. It is a bit intimidating at first! The need for personal space is different in than in the US. It is common to bump into someone, or have someone bump into you, while walking or riding public transportation. I'm sure I could keep coming up with random little differences I have noticed for a long time, but I will save those for other posts. To those back home, please continue to keep my in your thoughts and prayers, and know that you are in mine!
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Marci Hitz
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awesome clock
Ok i know the ocean is incredible and amazing, but i have to say i have NEVER seen a flower clock before! How cool. So glad you are close to the ocean. Please post more photos. It's great to see you are doing so well!