Tourist to Resident? The Real Beginning

So, after a week, I think I owe this blog an update. Where to even begin?

Friday afternoon I moved in with my host mom, Cecilia. She is super sweet and understanding of how difficult it is for me to communicate in Spanish. Since I’ve been here, I ask myself everyday why I am majoring in Spanish. Then I learn a new phrase or word and think, “Oh yeah, I love Spanish.”

On Saturday I returned to Lastarria to spend the day with my dad. We had lunch together and sat in Parque Forestral talking and enjoying his last moments in Santiago. He left Santiago that night and is now safely back in the United States where I am sure he is experiencing a new appreciation for the English language.

When I returned to Cecilia’s house, I went next door where another AU student, Allison, lives. She was there with Emily and Elin and it was so nice to sit around speaking English. Allison’s host mom gave us cookies and soda—Chilean host moms are super-simpáticas. Later we went to Budapest, a nearby bar, where we also met up with Eleni. Together we shared “un grifo.” If you want to know what that is, please ask, I would love to tell you but I’m not going into detail here because of the younger generation following this blog. Chilean nights are too late, but we were home by 2.

Yesterday was a bit crazier. Cecilia’s family came over for almuerzo—3 sons, 2 of them married, 6 grandchildren and another one is on the way. It was very overwhelming but also so much fun to meet everyone. Two of the sons live nearby and I will see them from time to time, but one of them lives in Peru with his family. I know that makes Cecilia sad so it was great to see her having such a great time with the grandchildren she rarely gets to see. Just when my brain was going to explode from the constant Spanish, Cecilia saved the day and demanded that I napped. I had a glorious 20 minutes of rest before Ignacia (one of the grandchildren, age 6) jumped in my bed to talk. It was, however, a wonderful way to wake up because she was adorable, and extremely patient for a 6 year old when it came to my inability to understand what she was trying to say.

This weekend was a wonderful introduction to the next 5 months. Vacationing here was one thing, but everything is different now that I am living with my madre chilena. I love it. The house is nice, Cecilia is muy simpática (and a good cook!), and the other AU students that I have gotten to know so far are so much fun. I feel comfortable here—wow.

completos with my dad

Ignacia, Lupe, and Magdalena!