1 week down!

So I've officially been in Chile for a week at this point, my program has started, and soon I will settle into a rhythm. I'm really tired, but so much has happened I feel like I need to get it all down before any more happens!

Wednesday (1/20) was one of the scariest days of my life. You know when you study abroad in a country with a language barrier that it will be difficult, but ayyyyyyy dios mio! So what we did that day was pretty much meet at the Campus Oriente of the PUC and get handed off to our host families for the rest of the day. My host family consists of a Mom who I live with, and two daughters, one of which lives with her fiance and the other is out of town until the 30th. They are all incredibly nice and I am able to communicate fairly well with them, but that didn't stop the freaking out that occurred later that night. It was pretty overwhelming, but I have now settled into the host family and the fact that my home life is now 100% in spanish and am very happy with it. They tend to give me a lot of space, which is also really nice.

So wednesday I acquired a BIP card (for the metro and the bus) from my host mom and then pretty much just hung out and skyped with a few people until my real mom came over for once with my host family and me (tea time esque meal at 9ish pm).

Thursday I ventured on the bus (very smoothly) with a host mom (who is also a director of the EAP program) and a girl from UCSB who live near me. We then had some orientation things, met the Cultural Monitors (Pipe), and then ventured to Providencia to buy cellulares (cell phones). Ultimately, and after much broken spanish conversing, we bought Entel prepaid phones from the big department store here, Paris. So far so good! Thursday night I went out with my host family, my host mom's friend and his daughter, and my mom to a café in the middle of this HUGE and very nice mall. It was fun, and the daughter spoke both english and spanish and expressed interest in showing me around Santiago and hanging out so she can practice her english and I can practice my spanish. I hope it works out!

Then Friday morning we had our oral exams and headed out for our orientation retreat in Curacavi, a small resort in the Coastal Mountains between Santiago and the coast. This weekend we received a lot of information, swam in the pool, hiked, and met a lot of people! Most meals, my tables ended up sitting and talking for more than an hour after we had finished eating. There are some really interesting and fun people to talk to and hang out with in the group!

I had a pretty bad stomach ache this morning that I think came from drinking the water a lot in Curacavi, but it seems to have solved itself more or less.

Tomorrow morning I am going for a run (we'll see how that goes) with one of my friends here, and then we start the 3 week Intensive Language Program. I'm interested to see which level I get placed in (Intermediate, Advanced Intermediate, or Advanced). Let's just say I'm sure it's not that last one. Hopefully my spanish will improve, I'll settle into a routine of going to class for 4 hours a day, and still have time to explore Santiago and plan for a possible Patagonia trip in 3 weeks!

I'm really excited to settle into a groove and see more of the city, and stoked to get to know people better! I need to make sure I am actively taking advantage of opportunities to hang out and make more friends, but I've been pretty good at putting myself out there. I have so much more to say, but for now I think it's bed time.

Buenas Noches!