Arrival!

I arrived yesterday morning super early into Santiago and waited at the airport for a few hours for other students to come. My flights were uneventful and I was actually lucky because on my 11 hour flight from New York to Santiago I was in a window seat with no one next to me so I got to curl up and lie down. It wasn't the most comfortable thing, but I did get about 6-7 hours of sleep which was great.

After checking into the hotel and notifying my parents of my safe arrival the whole group met in the lobby and went to lunch. The restaurant was called Giratorio and it turned! It turned slowly but we got to see different views of the mountains and the city throughout lunch. We started orientation after lunch and ha a few sessions about safety, earthquakes (which are pretty common in Chile), and telephones. I received a basil Samsung phone which will be what I use around the city. Petty theft is common and the fact that smartphones are not super popular makes them desirable to steal. Luckily no one will want to steal my little basic phone.

After relaxing for a little bit 3 other girls and I went to dinner at a nice Chilean dinner at a casual restaurant. The other girls had been in Costa Rica for 5 weeks, an optional program before coming to Chile, so they told me all about their trip and we talked about the upcoming semester. Because I was so tired from traveling I got to bed really early and got a good night sleep. This morning I woke up with a runny nose so hopefully I am not sick. I don't want a cold :(

I am really excited about my upcoming semester. It hasn't really hit me yet, but I think that's because we are staying in a hotel and haven't moved in with our host families. I am excited to meet mine Thursday evening.

I will try and post as much as possible, but it will probably not be more than once a week once I get in the swing of things. For now, I hope all of my relatives can know that I am safe and arrived with all of my luggage and am having a great first few days. Hasta pronto!