Whirlwind Week

I've been with my host family for almost a week now, but it feels like no time has gone by at all! This has been a pretty low-key week in terms of actual activity. But there's been a lot going on in terms of figuring out all the new stuff here.

I went to one and a half classes this week. The one was a class about Neruda and Mistral, and it looks like it's going to be good. The other is supposed to be about the social history of Chile, but the professor didn't show up. Apparently that's pretty common for professors during the first week of classes here. Their idea of school is a little more low key than ours. I think I've figured out how to get to all my campuses, which is no small feat considering the micros (or busses) are notoriously unreliable and aren't super convenient. But I think I got it? I was definitely frustrated for awhile there, but I'm slowly getting a better handle on what the main streets are and how they connect to each other.

In terms of other highlights, I've had a nice time exploring our various neighborhoods with people in the group. The other night a few of us checked out bars at Plaza Ñuñoa, which is best described as the Harvard Square of Chile. Some of us also got together at a friend's house close by and had a really nice time chatting with her host siblings. My host family's still super nice. My host brother is in school and works pretty much all the time. I feel like a serious slacker in comparison since I'm only going to have class for like 8 hours or so a week. I don't see my family a ton because we all have pretty diverse schedules. But tonight I had dinner and got to watch tv with my host mom, which was really nice. They have amazing telenovela-like shows here. Tonight I watched one called "Donde está Eliza?" about a girl who was kidnapped. The show follows the lives of everyone who is looking for her. It's fantastically dramatic and amusing.

Other than that, I've mostly been hanging out with people on the program, trying to get better at spanish (which I think is gradually happening), and trying to figure out the crazily confusing public transportation they have in this country. It's been a little challenging to settle into this new life, especially because I've been here for almost 3 weeks now and the normal homesick feeling that comes with travel is settling in. But luckily I have great people around me who are helping to make the transition easier.