I made it to Chile- It took several long long flights via Minneapolis, Chicago, and Toronto to finally reach Santiago. There I met up with my transport who drove me to Vina. We drove through so many vineyards settled in the valleys of the surrounding mountains, they were so beautiful! When we arrived in Vina I had to take a taxi to Veronica's. I found Veronica on the internet and she runs a B&B here. When I got to her house she informed me that she is actually booked for the whole semester but she was bumping people just so that I could stay for as long as I wanted. About an hour after I got to her house, she whisked me off to see her friend Alejandro. He is a native Chilean but lived in California for many years. His house sits on top of the hill that Vina is built on. From there you can see out onto the ocean and down into all of Vina and even over into the town (and beach) of Renaca. He has two houses connected by decks, one is his and the other is soon to be mine! He and Veronica work together and so I will move in with Alejandro. They both stress the importance of foreign students feeling comfortable in their new country. This way, they say, I now have two homes in Chile! Both are within walking distance to my school too.
Speaking of school, I had orientation yesterday. The campus is gorgeous and very small. Just 4 or 5 buildings with vines and trees and small walkways that lead to gardens all over the place. Oh, and a view of the ocean. Everyone here has a view of the ocean! I met up with some other students from Australia, New Zealand, and Pennsylvania. We took a bus downtown and bought prepaid cell phones (only 30 US$!) and checked out Laura's apartment on the 16th floor, facing...you guessed it...the ocean! Tomorrow is her moving in party combined with my birthday party.
Alejandro's birthday was yesterday and Veronica's was the 19th so they too have decided to throw a party. All three of us will be celebrating on saturday and all of their friends are coming. On the menu are fresh olives from the north, lots of tasty fish, and the staple of every meal avocados and bread.
The weather is warm here, usually low 70's to mid 80's. Today it is overcast but the last few have been very sunny. Yesterday I walked for an hour and a half from downtown back to Veronica's. The whole walk is on the beach with the Pacific spraying over you every few minutes.
I have been speaking a lot of Spanish, mostly at school. The other students and I spoke English yesterday but are making a pact to stop doing that. We all decided it was too hard to get to know each other in Spanish so we took one day to fill each other in. Alejandro and Veronica both speak some English, so we discuss important things like when I'm moving in English but everyday chitchat is in Spanish. Alejandro says he will quit using English when I move in because he wants to help me get rid of my "mexican spanish".
Well, that's all for now! Pictures will be posted as soon as I figure out my new camera-
Chao,
Clare
P.S.- There are two things that have thrown me for a loop so far. One of which is the cheek kissing. I was expecting the one cheek kiss, but not so often! It's used for hello, goodbye, good morning, goodnight, and just generally whenever. My first experience was Veronica's 10 year old nephew who grabbed my hand and pulled me down so he could reach my cheek before we even said hello!
The other thing is the shower situation. The hot water is heated with gas but you have to light it and let it sit for 10 minutes before you shower. Sadly, I am very very bad at lighting it. I've been shown countless times yet somehow I just can't get the bugger to go! So that means lots and lots of freezing cold showers, good thing the sun is so warm.
