The Pre-Santiago Experience

Today, I finished up most of my packing. Thanks to a certain good friend of mine (I see you Danny ;) I learned how to pack all of my t-shirts in a compact manner: rolled-up. I realized that it takes up much more space, and I can fit more shirts in. My dream of taking abroad my bro tanks is finally coming to life. Also, notice the glowing light emanating from my right hand.

I realized that Santiago, Chile is about 5 hours in advance from Pacific Time here in California, so I was talking with a couple friends today about possible times to skype. I feel like it's an awkward time difference because dinner time in Santiago is right around when classes barely get out at Stanford. I'll have to be super vigilant about my Skype dates when I'm abroad.

To give more detail about why I'm having this blog in the first place, I'm a junior at Stanford University, currently a Biology major and a pre-med student. I plan to study abroad in Santiago to immerse myself in Chilean culture and experience something new. I want to hone my Spanish speaking skills and eventually become a Spanish medical interpreter, which will be a great asset as a doctor. I currently am signed up for the following classes:

Accelerated Second-Year Spanish, Part I: Chilean Emphasis (5 Units)

Artistic Expression in Latin America (5 Units)

Spanish Language Tutorial (2 Units)

Dances of Latin America (2 Units)

I'm most excited for the Dance of Latin America class, because it's basically a workshop where we dance the entire time with our peers, trying out foreign, exciting new moves to use in the famed Chilean clubs I've heard about.

I was rushing to finish packing and bringing downstairs to the living all of the electronics I would bring along, which included my electric razor, laptop, phone, and of course, my long-time friend: the water pik, along with the chargers for everything. I ended up buying a voltage converter to accept 220 V from the outlets in Santiago, but frankly, I would only need this gadget for my beloved water pik charger, since everything else already has a built-in transformer (yay technology).

I finally got to see a couple of friends for the last time while I was at it. I got to visit my longtime elementary/high school friend Jennifer, and my Confirmation and Taekwondo buddy Brian, today. I exchanged emails with them, and also kept in touch with a couple of friends in my hometown. I realized that I wouldn't be seeing them again for another 3 months, and some until the summer! It's time for me to bring this first blog entry to a close. I leave home in less than 5 hours, so wish me luck!

~ Robi