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I was woken up on the night bus by a box of packaged breakfast things being dropped into my lap and whilst drinking my pineapple juice box I opened the curtains aaaaaand DESERT!!!! It was really really stunning... basically: desert... desert... desert... mountains! On both sides!

I spent the rest of the ride just watching out the window- it was incredibly beautiful.... Just completely stunning, I mean we saw a bit of the desert when we visited my sister Laura last year... but it became so much more real when I was looking at it and knowing that this is my home for the next six months! I wish I had taken pictures for you all to see, but I was so awestruck I didn’t think to get out the camera.

Two of the other exchange students, Laura and Felipe, got off in Vallenar, and the remaining four of us continued on for about an hour and a half. The other three Copiapó kids are Marcelo (Norway), Reins (Latvia), and Adam (U.S.A.) and we climbed down off the bus (it was a double decker) and got our suitcases, all the while being photographed by a man that turned out to be our Area Representative, Ricardo. Once we had all our things we walked (with MUCH nervousness) toward the crowd until our families recognized us and came forward!

Once I was with my family (my host parents and two of my sisters came to pick me up) we went to the supermarket then to the house... which is like a little castle! It’s wonderful... and well, I’ll have some pictures up soon of it! So then we had a little breakfast and I got to know my family a bit.... Here’s a quick rundown on the family so you’ll know who the people I might mention are:

-Mamá and Osvaldo are my host parents (and they own the school I'm going to)
-My two 19 year-old host sisters who study in Santiago (but spend most vacation time here) are Cony and Pel.
-My 24 year-old host sister is Antonia (I have yet to meet her as she is in Santiago)
-My 23 year-old host brother is Felipé (he also studies in Santiago, but spends vacations here)
-And finally my youngest host sister is Cata (or Caty) is 17 and we will be going to the same school.
-Joacova the family’s miniature dachshund.
- Cleotilda and Nutella are the big super-friendly "guard dogs"
-Abuelo and Abuela are my host grandparents (on Osvaldo’s side) who live with us
-Tio is Mamá’s brother and his wife is Tia Alejandra, and both of them work at my school.

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