Chile from the Plane

 

I think I accidentially signed up for Track and Field in Chile....oh and also, there are so many Chevy Sparks here so I'm fitting right in.

 This morning I woke up fairly early to head to my host sister's track competition. Her name is Almendra and this is the first time I got to meet her which was really exciting. She is fun and very good at throwing a javelin so I wouldn't reccomend messing with her. She's kind of like Molly in that way. 

Because her track meet was three hours away, we spent a lot of time in the car today. I'm fairly certain that this morning my host parents filled it up with diesel, which I found interesting. But then again I could be totally wrong, because the gas pump was in Spanish and I didn't exactly pop the hood to see if it was a diesel engine.  

We drove one of Almendra's track coaches home today, which is how I think I accidentially signed up for the Institute of Rafael Aritzia Track Team. Her coach asked me what sports I played in New York and I told him I did track as well, but not throwing. Only long distance running and jumping. I tried my best to make it very clear that I am bad at all of the events I ever participated in when it comes to track but he just laughed and asked me to write my name down in his phone for later. We will see how that situation develops...

Total side note, but there are Chevy Spark's EVERYWHERE in Chile. I even saw a Lucy lookalike today which made my heart very happy. For those of you who don't know, Lucy is the name of my blue Chevy Spark from home. It makes sense that a lot of people drive them though because it seems to me that it is more common to have a smaller car in Chile. 

During our travels, my host family taught me a lot of new words and phrases. I learned some new Chilean vocabulary too! We also talked about formal Spanish versus informal Spanish and what words I should use with friends and not with teachers at school. I think that Claudia is nervous I'm going to say something I shouldn't to the wrong person, which is a very valid fear. I'm less nervous about it because my general rule of thumb is, if I don't know what it means I'm not going to repeat it. And that goes for English and Spanish. Let's just all cross our fingers that I don't get myself into a pickle, okay? 

Anyways, after we got home the track meet, there was still about an hour and a half until we all sat down for "once" (pronounced oon-say). This is basically Chilean dinner, but it's different because dinner isn't as big of a meal as in the United States. My understanding is that lunch is the big meal of the day, but don't quote me on that because I've only been in Chile for a little more than 24 hours and we haven't exactly been on a normal schedule. 

During the free time between getting back to the house and dinner, I talked with Abuela. Or I tried to at least. She did a lot of talking, and I said a lot of "Si, si, si". I did catch though that she has traveled a lot throughout South America and that Claudia was acutally born in Venezuela. The rest of the family was busy helping Almendra pack for her own exchange year in Germany so Abuela and I just chilled and bonded over the dogs. 

The inside dogs are named Augusto and Violet, and whenever I start to get really homesick and feel like I'm going to cry, I just think about Augusto peeing on the floor because Claudia says he does that sometimes. 

Sorry, back on track now. Sometime during my conversation with Abuela, my host dad, Gonazalo, turned on a Youtube channel of this guy from Mexico who travels around a tries foods from different countries. I didn't catch a whole lot of it, but it did make me laugh when Abuela kept calling him a glutton in Spanish. She would say "Aaaah glutton, glutton. How is he not fat, that is so much food!?" I just smiled and laughed and said "I don't know"

When once came around, it was a full house because all of Almendra's brothers sat down with us to have one last meal with her. This was the first time I met Gonzalo (he's obviously named after my host dad but I'm not sure if he's a Jr. so just bear with me through the two Gonzalo's) and Isaac. Gonazalo is a Chilean police officer and is pretty quiet. Isaac is the youngest brother, with Almendra being the actual youngest, and is a lot like his mom. I enjoyed getting to know him and his girlfriend Sara during the meal. 

Before I went to bed, Claudia pulled out the gifts that I gave the family from last night and I got to explain them all over again. I definately did a bad job with my Spanish then because I got excited and going too fast, but it's okay. The whole family was patient and corrected my grammar when necessary, which I appreciate very much. 

Before I sign off, I would like to say two things. 

#1 I miss home like crazy. I know this is normal, but that doesn't make it any less difficult. I'm just trying my best to immerse myself because that helps me not think about it and also to look at the homesickness as a privilege. Seriously, how lucky am I that I get to have so many wonderful things and people to miss?

#2 Please be patient with these blog posts. My grammar and sentence structure is terrible and I am very aware of that. But I am trying to be authentic and am also fighting with my brain to not spell words in Spanish.  I find that if I avoid English during the day, my Spanish stays pretty secure. That being said though, it does take me a second to adjust when I sit down to write these posts at night. Maybe that's because I'm just tired. I should probably go to bed.

On that note, this New York girl gone rogue is going to get some sleep. 

Buenas noches con mucho amor

Anna

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. 

Flight #1 Albany -> Atlanta

 A few updates:

Anna did not make it to Chile by August 16th. While initially this made me feel a bit dejected, I am grateful for the extra week I got to spend in the United States. I was home for the Washington County Fair, which is always the best week of the summer, and got to spend some extra time with family and friends. 

Alternatively, my departure date is today!

As of August 27th at 10:22am, I am in the airport waiting for my flight to Atlanta, Georgia. From there. I will fly into the Santiago airport. Good news is I stopped procrastinating and finally packed all of my bags. Bad news is they were all a decent amount too heavy, so we may or may not have been flinging things out of them at the aiport but that's neither here nor there. 

Anyways, the Chilean adventure has officially commenced. Wish me luck :)

Much love always,

Anna