Orientation Day

Biggest thing I've learned so far, Americans need to learn from Chileans on how to drive efficiently. I swear, they do not wait for anyone to even think about hesitating to make a turn or not. If you aren't moving, they go around you. It doesn't matter if there's a car in the next lane or not, they find a way in and just go around. Traffic lanes are optional I feel. Seat belts are too. The first time I got in the car and started to put my seat belt on, they leaned way over as if I needed the whole back seat to buckle up, but then I realized none of them followed suit, and they only did that because they aren't used to people buckling up so they don't know the appropriate amount of space necessary when doing the lean. But honestly, if you thought California or New York City drivers were aggressive, you haven't lived. I think the worst thing is that I absolutely love it! I mean it's not about watching out for pedestrians or other cars (now I understand why I haven't seen too many bikers), it's about how fast can you get from point A to point B. Tri Cities, you better watch your back when I get back...

On that note, I found out how to ride the micro (bus) today. I walk about five blocks or so to the main road to hop on a bus (if you don't hop on quickly, they'll drive right off). Buses don't have set stops either, if you wave one down they'll stop, and when you need to get off you just stand up and either pull the cords they have along the ceiling or push a button on the railings. There's also many many different types of buses, so they only way for me to know which one is mine is by reading the names of the places they go. I know H.NAVAL is for coming back (hospital naval), but I don't remember which I need to take to get to the university. Luckily, my host dad went with me today and will do the same tomorrow, or until I'm ready for him to let me do it on my own.

It is a twenty minute or so drive to Valparaiso, but I don't think I'll ever get tired of it because of the view. Today, the sun decided to show itself, and I got to see the beautiful ocean view as the sun was rising the entire way to the university. Even more beautiful was when I later walked to the supermarcado con mi padre (supermarket with my dad). The entire time, I had a fairly clear view of the sunset on the ocean. Spectacular. The sun sets very fast though, we walked into the mall while the sun was still barely visible, and by the time we had walked through it, it was completely dark out.

I'm tall. That's what I figured out very quickly. It actually was the first thing my sister said to me when I met her (she comes up to about chest height). Her dad later told me how Chileans are just short people in general. I think my dad is about the same height as Alyssa, and that's considered pretty tall here.

I got to meet my dad's sister, her husband, and their daughter today. It was a pretty good experience, and the husband had a nice conversation conmigo y mi madre (with me and my dad). I actually was able to understand about 95% of what they were talking about, and they were really nice and funny. They then stopped by again just an hour or so ago, and it was nice to see them again. My family told me that next weekend, they'll be taking me with them to Papudo (google it) for their grandmother's birthday, and that's where the sister's family lives. My dad said it's the most beautiful place he's ever seen. We'll be playing beach volleyball and beach soccer (I'll finally get to show off my amazing lack of skills for their country's favorite sport). It shall be wonderful =)

Oh yeah, we started talking about houses and prices and such, and I told my dad about some of the richer parts of America, and so he brought up on google a few different cities along the beach (Papudo being one of them), and then we continued to look at different houses for sale at these places, ooing and ahhing at every single one of them. The prices ranged from about $800,000 to $1,550,000. I think Scott would be proud...

One main difference here: eating schedules. They wake up and have desayuno (breakfast). Then, at around 1 or 2 they have almuerzo (lunch), but it's not like ours. This is their biggest meal of the day, and they told me it's because they work late into the night (till around 6:30 or 7) and they need lots of energy for the rest of the afternoon. Then, at around 5 or 6 they have an once (it's like Europe having a time for tea). Finally, at around 9 or 10 they have cena (dinner), but it's only a light meal to tide them over for the night. My family, however, skips the cena and just has an once at around 8 or 8:30 because that's when everyone gets home from work and school.

Oh yeah, Gabriella (mi hermana/sister) goes to school from 8-1, or somewhere around there. She's in high school, and in her final year. Rodrigo (mi hermano/brother [and also the same name as my father]), goes to school from 2-7. So he sleeps in and doesn't even leave for his elementary school until his sister is already home. It's very interesting, and I found it really funny when they thought 7:35 was early for classes to start when their high school only starts 25 minutes later.

Another random thought, on the way home from the university today, my dad started talking to me about politics and such, and brought up the dictatorship of Pinochet. (If you really want to learn more about Chile, I highly recommend reading up on the history involving him) Luckily, I did a project on his leadership and the US-backed coup that overtook him, so I knew exactly what he was talking about. But he told me that with him, no one was allowed in the streets past 7 PM, and no one was allowed back onto the streets until 8 AM. Todo el tiempo (all the time), there were military people with guns on the streets enforcing the strict rules and regulations. He said it was a very tense time, but now things are a lot more tranquil and they can relax. Just a little history in case you were interested.

The main reason we were talking about this is because I registered for my classes today. I had a placement test today during the orientation, and I got a 50/62 or somewhere around there, so I tested into the advanced level. I was able to take two of the following: Contemporary Chilean Literature, Grammar, Social and Political Themes of Chile, or Conversation and Culture of Chile. I was planning on taking the Lit and the Conversation class, but the Lit class went from 8:30-10:00, and the Conversation wasn't until 2:00, so I opted for the more convienent and more interesting sounding Social and Political Themes class, which goes from 11:45-1:15. Much easier to manage since I won't have to pay twice as much bus fair every day going back and forth between a huge break. It's funny to think that I have to travel all the way to Chile to finally have a schedule with classes that start later than 8:00 AM. Oh, and my first class doesn't start till Wednesday so I don't have to be there till 2 tomorrow. It'll give me plenty of time to relax and catch up on things before I need to go.

Well I think I've written more than enough for now. Tomorrow I wake up whenever and have their housekeeper make me lunch. Then I ride the bus with my dad to class. After, I have a conversation with a Chilean student that will be half English and have Spanish (they want to learn English). Then, I come back and help Gabriella study for her English test. I was looking through her book and boy am I glad I don't have to learn English. There are so many crazy rules to follow that only have like one particular case. But she's doing it, I guess she wants to be an intrepreter in the future. There's only one university for that here, but that's another story for another day. I need sleep now. Thanks for reading if you kept up till now.

Until next time, ciao!