Como se dice "full" en espanol?

Hola todos!

Wow...what an amazing experience I have had so far.  We have only been here about 8 days but I feel like its been a month.  Everything is going great...the people in the program have become instant friends, my host family is very welcoming and helpful, and I am finally starting to find my way around Vina del Mar and Valparaiso.

Last Monday we arrived in Santiago and began our orientation.  We went out to restaurants together, toured the city, and held other orientation "get to know you" activities.  We also had a lot of free time to tour the city ourselves.  Santiago is such a different place than I have ever been to.  In order to get to the city you have to go through a very long tunnel.  Before this tunnel are many very poor barrios along the highway.  It was almost surreal to see the shacks and all the trash everywhere.  It was definitely alot different than any US city by far.  In the Santiago metro area there are almost 7 million inhabitants.  Can you imagine!? Its pretty huge and we didn't even see a quarter of it.

View from our hotel in Santiago.

This past Wednesday we loaded up and drove the almost two hours to Valparaiso.  Since then, we have been dispersed around the two cities of Vina del Mar and Valpo.  They are basically right next to each other but most of the University buildings are spread out in Valpo.  I live in Vina del Mar, which in itself is very different than Valpo.  Valpo has more of a big city feel (although it only has about 270,000 people) and Vina is big but quite more residential and "chill."  It is also one of the most popular beach destinations in Chile.  People from all over flock here for the summer to enjoy the beach and other activities.  We went to the beach on Saturday and had a great time.  I jumped in the water and immediately regretted my decision as the water was so cold it almost knocked me over! 

My host family is great.  Our house is unbelievable and I actually have my own apartment outside the house.  I was by far the luckiest of all the kids in the program.  I have a great view, my own bathroom, a tv, and am currently picking up WIFI.  It sounds like I could be in here all day and be fine...but I have actually spent very little time here.  I have been so busy and hanging out with my host brothers and family more than by myself.  I have a mom, Karla, a dad, Claudio, and two host brothers Jose Ignacio (12) and Bastian (14).  We have had a lot of fun so far and it continues to get easier to understand them!

 

My room and outside my "apartment"

Another bit of culture shock has come from the Chilean culture in general.  There are two things that I can't seem to understand.  In the states, for me at least, I like to have three good sized meals and maybe snack in addition to that.  But here you have three HUGE meals.  Like more food than I can handle, I think I have only joined the clean plate club one time since I've been here because of the amount of food I am given.  Its actually kind of ridiculous but most of the food I have been served has been really good.  The other thing that I am having trouble understanding is the schedule of the younger Chilean generation.  For them a "night on the town" doesn't start until almost midnight or even later.  Its not abnormal for them to stay up until 6 or 7 at a club or discotec.  I am not even close to accustomed to that! I have been staying up late but trying to keep in mind my need for sleep at the same time. 

There is so much to do here.  We have traveled to a grape vineyard (actually owned and operated by the Dole Fruit Company of the US), gone to the beach, explored some bars and discotecas, tried to figure out the micro-bus and collectivo system, among countless other activities!  None-the-less my experience so far has completely exceeded all of my expectations. 

Class begins next week...I know all of you already in school are jealous.  I am going to register my visa today and then maybe go to the beach? Who knows...we'll see.  I'll be thinking about you all as my vacation continues! haha.

Sorry this post is more informational than interesting...hope you can enjoy it regardless!

By the way I posted a bunch of pictures on the internet, you can view them here:
http://picasaweb.google.com/McCubreyEJ

Hasta pronto,

Chett

Comments

[Amy Lancaster]

Chett,

Cuidado con esa frase! A muchas personas, "estar lleno" lleva un sentido vulgar. Si quieres comunicar "I'm full", es mejor decir, "Comí demasiado." :)

Sólo para que sepas!

AL