Not in Mexico...yet

Hola a todos,

I arrived in Viña del Mar, Chile on January the second to take an intensive Spanish course at a local university.  Three new friends, also Wofford students, met up with me in the airport in Santiago.  We were picked up by former lady terriers basketball all-star Meredith Denton (class of '99).

The first few days have been challenging, but also exciting.  Chilean Spanish is quite a (difficult) surprise from what I had been expecting, but I am working hard to adjust my ears.  I am staying with a Chilean family in an apartment about 20 minutes from the university.  The mother is a stay at home mom that enjoys volunteering at the hospital.  Her daughter is a 22 year old med student at a university close by, who is currently cramming for her semester final this coming Friday.  I got up last night to get a glass of water and she was still at the kitchen table studying...pobrecita.

In five days I have been to Valparaiso twice and through Viña several times to orient myself.  The two cities are so close I would have difficulty telling where one stops and the other begins were it not for their distinctive architecture.

Attached are some pictures of myself and fellow Wofford students Kristen Demosthenes, Catherine Raymer, Philip Long, and Wofford grad Meredith Denton.

Hasta pronto.

Comments

[Larry McGehee]

You left Sparkle City by stealth, didn't you?
Guess I'll have to settle for blog reports instead of personal Wednesday afternoon updates. How's the water? How's the beer?