First Day/Dia Primera

 I arrived in Chile today guys!

It only took me a bazillion catrillion hours because my flight from Atlanta kept getting delayed, but I finally made it! And yes, before anyone says anything "bazillion catrillion" is a number. Don't google it. 

I was picked up at the Santiago Airport by my host parents, Claudia and Gonzalo, around 11am. My host city, Quillota, is a little over an hour away from Santiago, so I got to chat with them quite a bit on the car ride home.

Claudia is a lot like my real mom. She's gregarious, always moving, and has what she herself called "una voz fuerte" or "a strong voice". We bonded over the fact that we are both women with "strong voices"

Gonzalo is more laid back, but smiles easily. He is always quick to jump in with a comment that is comical. I've only understood about half of them but as long as I laugh when Claudia laughs I can get by. 

As far as my Spanish goes, I feel like I am holding my own. Well, except for with Abuela, Claudia's mom. But she speaks quiet and fast so I'm not letting that get me down. I understand the general idea of a conversation and if I need to, I ask questions or for repetition if necessary. Claudia talks very fast with her strong voice so I often ask her to repeat herself, but she does so very kindly and corrects my grammar sweetly as well. 

If a conversation is happening that I know is important I do my best to make sure I understand every piece. For example, today we talked a lot about school and schedules and rules of the house, so I tried really hard to understand all that my new family was saying. 

I have noticed that it is very sticky for me to switch back and forth between English and Spanish without making mistakes. I felt like I did a good job for most of the day with conjugations and grammar, but my Spanish after I called my mom to say goodnight was not as good because it felt like I had removed the layer of Spanish I had built up throughout the day. Maybe that's ridiculous, but I want to try harder to not let English throw me off track. 

I would be lying if I said that when I first saw Quillota, I wasn't a bit taken aback. Truth be told, to any American it would look like a mess of a city plopped into the middle of a Chilean valley. However, the more time I spent in the city today and at my host families house, I started to notice that the beauty of a city is expressed differently in Chile. You see it in statues and immaculate woodwork sprinkled in with the stone store fronts. Tiling, doors, and gates are also an easy way to spot a solid Chilean abode. In the United States we are used to looking on the outside of things and finding them attractive before we take a chance and dive deeper. In Chile, the faces of buildings are very unassuming, but when you walk inside you encounter lushcious courtyards, hardwood floors, an abundance of people, and an abundance of products. It's been quite the lesson in "don't judge a book by its cover".

My host family’s house if very different than my house in New York, but I can feel the warmth that radiates from the years that Gonzalo and Claudia have spent raising a family here. Their career success is expressed by detailed tiles in the kitchen and bathrooms, unique artwork propped up in various places, a stone floor in the dining room, and a flatscreen TV that is in the living room for everyone to gather around. They have welcomed me into their little corner of the world with open arms, and I could not be more grateful. 

Stay tuned for the next few days when this Salem girl officially starts school. In the meantime I will be attending my host sisters track meet and trying my best to be helpful around the house.

Anna Maxwell, over and out.