La Jac Goes to South America.: Bésame. Bésame mucho.

So the flights were long, just like my itinerary claimed they would be. Lacey and I made it to the bus terminal in Santiago in time to buy the last two tickets for the final morning bus. (Departure time: 10 minutes.) Every now and then I would remember that those mountains we were passing were the Andes. The Andes. Super weird.

We got into Valdivia 11 hours later—30 hours of straight travel time, yo—and found our respective strangers. Strangers that kiss you and claim to be your new mom and sister. (Having no alternative, you believe them and get into their car.) Turns out they really were and at my new house I met my dad and brother—more kisses—and was ushered into the dining room where they left me alone with my dinner for a few minutes. Um, so there weren’t any chairs. It’s cool; new country, new customs. I’m trying not to make assumptions, but I will say I was happy when I found out that they just forget to put the chairs there and that people sit down to eat in Chile, too.

Then the first day of school. It’s funny because you just flat out don’t know ANYthing. I got up at 7:30 and everyone was gone. I was thinking, “can I eat whatever, or how does this work?” Then there's a house alarm and stuff, so I wasn't really sure what to do about that. (I’m sure they’d told me but there is this slight language barrier.) And then I didn't really understand if I was supposed to come back at lunchtime and when lunchtime was, for that matter. Anyway, I pulled through. Also, classes are completely in Spanish, which is going to be quite the thing.

Two weeks in now, and I’m feeling good. Valdivia is beautiful; all sorts of rivers and blooming trees and funny-looking birds. It rains a lot here and I think it’s about as cozy as can be. I wonder if the novelty might wear off, but it hasn't yet. Wikipedia claims Seattle gets 37.1 inches a year. Valdivia? 23 inches in the month of June alone. (I bought an umbrella.)

My host family is fantastic. They’re super funny and really warm. We come back to the house to eat lunch together every day, and it’s kind of an event. It’s like the major meal of the day and we just hang out and eat wonderful things and talk. Truthfully, I don't have a clue what's going on a lot of the time. (I really am happy here, just way out of the loop.) I understand Spanish about as well as I expected. That means I generally know what topic we’re talking about and generally don’t know what we’re saying about it. My family speaks slowly for me, though, and I’m bumbling along.

Quick summary of other cool things: There is an abundance of lobos marinos (sea “wolves”) down by the bridge. I saw a Beatles cover band comprised of Chileans, super fun[ny]. There are lots of cute cafés where I can sit and read my dictionary. There’s a giant botanical garden on campus which is mind-boggling and fantastic. My brother Felipe took me on lovely hike, basically in our backyard, and the verdict is that Valdivia is just plain beautiful. There’s a lively fish market on the waterfront. Avocado! We eat lots and lots of avocado, called “palta” here (not “aguacuate” like I learned in Washington).

This is long and I still have tons to say but in conclusion I will say that one semi-shocking thing is the number of words you learn in class that evidently aren’t really used in real life. The aforementioned palta/aguacate mix-up is one, another major one is “adios.” You think you at least know that one. Guess what? No. Everyone says “chao.” I literally have not heard adios. I think I’m going to get educated.

Chao y besos (always lots and lots of besos)

JacLyn