First Week in Santiago

I don't even know where to begin, but my week has been great and I love Santiago so far!
Tuesday morning after some orientation sessions we went to see a campus of one of the universities we will be taking classes at. Little did I know I would live right across from this campus, and unfortunately I will not be taking any classes there :(. After lunch we went on a bike tour throughout Santiago. It was cool seeing different parts of the city all in a few hours. I wouldn't have thought to do a bike tour, but after this I am definitely open to doing another one in a different city because I really enjoyed it and got a lot out of it.

in the central market - stop on our bike tour

bike tour

a church in La Plaza de Armas - stop on our bike tour

On Wednesday morning we went to visit a few campuses from the universities we can take classes at. After lunch we learned a lot about the classes we can take and the different education system. We also learned a lot about Chilean culture and some phrases that they use which are particular to Chile.

One campus of Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile

One campus at La Universidad de Chile

Thursday morning we focused on host families and our living situations in the orientation sessions. We took a break and visited one more campus, which is where we will be taking most of our classes. We then ate lunch and had one final session before our host families came to pick us up. My host mom came with my friend Emily's host mom together to pick us up and we dropped them off before going to my house.

I live on the 9th floor of a very nice apartment building. There is a pool outside, a gym downstairs, and there are dryers! I have my own room with a closet, drawers, desk, nightstand, and bed. My bed seemed larger than a twin sized bed and so I asked my host sister and we concluded it was a 1.5 sized bed, as in like a twin and a half. It is perfect because I have a lot of space but it isn't too big. Across from my room is a bathroom and I am the only one that uses it. I am very comfortable here. My host family consists of my host mom, Claudia, and my 22 year old host sister, Javi (short for Javiera). They have hosted about 12 students before me, so they are very comfortable with hosting. I didn't realize they had hosted that many students, but I think it is great because I have a lot of independence. Meals are a little interesting. Breakfast consists of something like toast with jam or peanut butter if you are me haha. Lunch is the big meal and would be similar to the size of an American dinner. Dinner on the other hand is pretty much non existent since they eat something called once. It is pretty much tea/coffee, break, some toppings, and maybe something more if you are really hungry. It is like a really light lunch. I know for a fact that my stomach shrunk since coming here because I haven't been snacking at all, but I have started eating something more for dinner. I will have to prepare it myself which is completely fine because I do that in the US in my dorm already so I am used to it.

Friday I had to be at the GW office really early because we went to the International Police Office to start the finish of the process of getting our student visas. I have to say that the visa process is quite lengthy. While in the US I had to get a lot of paperwork together, including acceptance letters, an FBI background check, and an HIV test. Then I had to send everything to the Chilean consulate, who then scheduled me an appointment to go in with my passport. After paying the $160 reciprocity fee I got the visa put in my passport. However, once arriving in Santiago there are a few more steps to complete before finalizing the process and getting my ID card. I will finish it all within the next 10 days.

In the afternoon we climbed to the top of a hill with stairs in the center of the city, la Cerra Santa Lucia. It was really cool to be able to look out and see the city, but it was unfortunate that it was foggy. I guess I will have to go back sometime soon! After, I went home and relaxed. I ended up going to bed early because I was so tired. It was an exhausting week.

Saturday during the day I met up with some of the girls in my program and we went to a mall to go shopping for the essentials - of course we all came out with more than just the essentials. Besides buying some hangars and cosmetics, I bought a hat, a couple tshirts, and a mint green sweater, and I must say that they were all on sale - score! We all went home to supposedly nap and then go out to celebrate a birthday, but it was so cold and started raining so many of us, including myself, stayed in. I got to rest a lot and chat with my host mom. Sunday I did some laundry and was spent hanging around the apartment. My host mom has become very good friends with the other woman she picked me up with, so Emily, her host mom, my host mom, and me went to a mall for a few hours today. It was nice getting out of the house for a bit.

Tomorrow I have an orientation at a university with my GW group. We are going to San Pedro de Atacama, which is the desert in Northern Chile, from Tuesday through Friday. I am excited to see the geysers, go hiking, and go sandboarding. I'm sure I will have lots to tell! I am about to go watch a new show with my host sister, but I will hopefully write more soon.