I'm Here!

So, it was a long journey, but I made it! It was an 11-hour flight from LAX to Santiago, which luckily went off without a hitch even though it was 9/11. The airlines was very nice, served two meals, and had a huge variety of movies, TV, and audio. There were so many good options that I didn't study any Spanish, like I had planned. Instead I watched The Bridges of Madison County, the end of Sex in the City (which we had rented but it froze on us), and Made of Honor. The only really bad part about the flight was that, despite lots of trying, I really couldn't sleep except for an hour or so.

Anyway, we met several other UC students on the plane, so we were able to get through Santiago together. Overall it was easy, except that my bags took a very long time to come. I was generally happy if I got through a transaction without them switching to English (despite what people may say, virtually everyone at the airport at least spoke English), although I think whether or not we continued in Spanish probably had more to do with their English skills than my Spanish skills. The flight to Concepcion was very quick (50 minutes), so I pretty much just watched the beautiful scenery, ate my snack, and then we landed. Once in Concepcion, the ten of us took three taxis to the hotel, where we checked in, and then went out.

We met our program directors in the lobby, who gave us a schedule for the next couple of days. We have a welcome dinner tonight (where we will meet our "hermanas"), orientation tomorrow, meet our families on Sunday, language placement test on Monday (yikes! mostly it doesn't matter what level you're in because they all learn the same thing in the end, but supposedly you will meet better people if you test into a higher level), abbreviated class on Tuesday and Wednesday, and Thursday off for Chilean Independence Day. One of the program directors also talked to us about our homestay families. Dipika and I already knew about ours, although she told us that we are in different barrios. Evan learned a little bit about his host family- they have been with the program for many years, and they live a couple houses down from my family! So, looks like we can get to school together.

We went out and walked around for a bit looking for some lunch but found many cafes, shops, ice cream places, open-air markets, etc. but couldn't find a restaurant that looked good. So, we went back and asked our program director for a recommendation. She recommended a self-serve place where you choose what you want and then pay accordingly. I got chicken and rice (technically arroz con pollo but nothing like the Mexican version-- much blander). It was good, but I think I will miss the variety of food available in the US. Anyway, we then came back and slept a couple of hours, and it is now nearing time for dinner. I will keep you all updated!