Have you ever had an alfajor? It's a special confection made of honey, flour, sugar, and cinnamon, originally made in Spain and then made into variations in many Latin American countries, including Chile. It's so good, the texture is soft and chewy and there's dollops of caramel in the middle. MMMM.
Tuesday late afternoon, we just finished a workshop given by one of the staff members, Carrie, about homestays and expectations. We were all nervous to meet our host families. What were they going to be like? What do our rooms look like? Will they like me? The typical questions for a foreign exchange student. Kevin, Laura, Chris, and I happened to live all right by each other. It was even luckier that Laura and I happened to live in the same building, only 2 floors apart!
My host mom Sandra was waiting outside the gates when we arrived. She was waiting with her boyfriend Jose and Yvonne, Laura’s host mom. They both greeted us with kisses on the cheek, as in the Chilean custom, and helped us moved out stuff in right away. This gated residence area is breathtakingly beautiful, and more pictures are to come. Green shrubbery and flowers graced every pathway. Sandra and her daughter, Josefina, live on the 4th floor in one of the many buildings of which this residence composed.
I got into my room, and it was very cozy. Granted, the space was a bit smaller than what I was used to, but it would turn out to be a very comforting home for the next 3 months. I remember that night, we ate take-out Chinese food, which was hilarious and unexpected. Afterwards, though, we had a very nice but intense conversation on religion and politics in Santiago. It was a great chance for me to get accustomed to speaking to my host family in Spanish, and already I was gaining a lot of experience in listening.
Our moms took us to school the next day by bus and metro so that we would be familiar with the route and go to school on our own. All in all, it takes about 15-20 min to get to school. Upon arriving at the center, I got my first house keys!!
For Wednesday and Thursday (Friday we have no school for the entire quarter – 3 day weekends baby) of this week, we would shop classes and attend those that we are interested in, yet by no means was it a binding commitment if we intended to drop the class later on. Basically, these were syllabus days where the professor explained the requirements of the class. The intimidating thing about all of my classes is that they are all taught in Spanish: the readings and lectures!
However, one class that seemed very fun and promising was the 2-unit dance class taught by visiting staff member Sussie, who specializes in South American dances. Almost everyone planned to take the class, with the exception of Will who felt “tired” that day.
My first homemade dinner
We had plans that night to go to a ballet, so I went home first to have dinner. Because I was in a rush to get ready for the ballet, my host mom set up dinner in my room. Palta, or avocado in Chile, is a very popular staple in many dishes, whether as a side or included in the main dish itself. Sandra is extremely nice and sets up dinner with precision.
Kevin and Laura leading the pack to the ballet.
After dinner, I set out to meet Laura, Chris, and Kevin at the bus stop so we could go together in a group to the ballet. On the metro, there was a sign that showed The month of January is extremely busy and vivid with arts activities and festivals, and the ballet was one of those activities.
Walking took a while from the stop, but it was fun because we were in groups. It was just a little bit frustrating because people weren’t showing up at the metro stop at the same time, so people had to wait for others. It was a bit of a hot mess.
Nonetheless, we all showed up at the ballet, safe and sound. The ballet itself was interesting, but the music just threw me off completely. This rock band was playing music in Spanish while the dancers were doing their thing, instead of the classical piano music I was expecting. Thus, I had mixed feelings about the performance, although I can’t really say that because I dozed off halfway through since I was so tired. Another day down.
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