el empiezo de valparaiso

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On Sunday we went to the hill where Santiago, el cello de San Lucia (Gorgeous palace on a huge cliff!!), was founded and also to a wealthy artisan market, el Mercado de los Dominicanos. I bought three copper cuff bracelets like the one I wear everyday but prettier, for the price of one in the US! It was awesome! We then drove through the Andes to get to Valparaíso y Viña del Mar and it was the most beautiful drive I have ever done. Everyone else was asleep but I could not peel my eyes away from the gorgeous vineyards and gigantic mountains…and my ears wouldn’t stop popping. When we got to Valparaíso immediately we got off the bus and met our families. My Chilean parents and sister were there and they were so warm and welcoming right away. They do not speak A WORD of English. They tried to say hello as “lohe”…I was like hmm kind of like Hawaii? Their house is in a very visibly wealthy area in comparison but I could never live there forever! It’s cozy and my bedroom is large with a tv and queen size bed but I only have 2 mini drawers for my clothes so its going to be a suitcase lifestyle for a while!! There are two cute dogs but they’re a bit out of control and they stay on the patio, which replaces yards for every house. I haven’t seen any grass since I’ve been here!
On Monday we went to orientation at the University and met the other international students from other programs. They attempted a tour of the city which is completely impossible so it became a tour of one street that somehow took 3 hours. They’re so laid back about everything it didn’t bother them one bit! We then took a diagnostic exam, got to hang out at the ISA office a little bit, then we got our results and got placed into our classes. I’m taking avanzado literatura y cine. My host parents and little brother picked me up at the ISA office and we went out for ice cream which is the best thing I’ve ever tasted. It’s more like gelato. I got a flavor called into the woods which contained all sorts of berries, most of which we don’t even have at home. It was absolutely the best thing I have ever tasted; it put Ben and Jerry’s sorbet to shame!! We drove to the neighborhoods along the water (neighborhood=giant mountain with millions of houses and apartments falling off it into the see and these weird outdoor escalators that go up it so you can actually get to your house) and saw tons of seals and HUGE waves. Apparently surfing is really popular but there were no surfers out and they were equivalent to hurricane waves in RI (sorry Brendan).
On Tuesday I had my first day of classes and I actually understood my professors for the most part. I then wondered around with Liz for a bit and ultimately accomplished nothing other than buying a new hair straightener only to have it go off walking through security which of course was wonderful since we could not comprehend a word of what the guard was telling us. We did a lot of research at the ISA office about travelling this weekend which basically is impossible to because everything is freezing cold and really far away. All the flights are 5 hours at least and the cost was close to a 1000$ American dollars for everything! We decided to do a short trip to La Serena which is only about 6 hours away. It’s another port city but we’re planning on staying in a little hostal that seems cool and hopefully hiking and exploring a little more freely. It’s North so hopefully a little warmer!! Overall it was an incredibly frustrating day that made me realize how horrible I am at Spanish. I decided to take out my frustration on my first run in a couple weeks which was SO refreshing. My family wouldn’t let me go alone so they made their son go with me, so we had awkward silence since I can’t understand him, especially when he’s riding a bike and I’m running. I met more of the extended family tonight and everyone is so welcoming and tries really hard to talk slow around me so I can try to pick stuff up. It’s pretty impossible: I got today that pololo means boyfriend and that novio, what they teach you in school, actually means fiancée in Chile. So basically it seems like all gringos are engaged to them. Took the metro home alone with Liz which was probably a pretty bad idea but it worked out and I felt like I had an ounce of independence and now I know where to go! Also I almost died of a broken heart today when I saw this most precious little homeless tiger kitten (very Cicero-like) hiding under a pile of avocados in the GIANT market right next to school.

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