Day 8

Hola mis amigos! So, I've been rereading my blog posts and I feel like when I write them after dinner with my parents (as I am doing now) my English is super simple and my writing is very different compared to when I have been thinking in English and taking in English....it is so weird. Today we were given a tour of my university--all of the different parts and then we went to ISA where we ate lunch and had a lecture on the history of Valpo y Vina..it was super boring, mainly because I was having a really hard time focusing today. It's hard to translate quickly anyways but today we were watching a video that was in French and had Spanish subtitles----talk about a language mess fest in my head!

After the lecture we got on a bus to go to Vina del Mar, the city that is ten minutes away from us---lots of the kids in my program live there. Vina is the tourist city and is more expensive, but also prettier--as far as beaches go anyways. We went around the market and stopped at a couple different beaches that were super nice (can't wait to go there fin de samana) however, the Pacific is super COLD. Don't worry, I'll totally still swim in it, but compared to the gulf it's like swimming in ice. Our papa picked us up from Vina and we took the metro back to Valpo then came home and had dinner--tonight it was roast with rice and potatoes, que rico! My parents also know that I love ice cream so there is usually some in the freezer for after dinner--it tastes like sorbet because it isn't made with milk I don't think.

This weekend my friends and I plan on spending all day on the beach--I am actually already pretty tan considering the short amount of time that I have been here. Our mom tells us all the time to make sure and wear sunscreen (there is a hole in the ozone layer above Chile).

My list of fun facts about my life here:

-with every meal we have bread aka pan--there is also usually sandwich meat and cheese on the table if you want to make a sandwich as well
-my mama hand-washes all of our laundry, isn't she amazing!?
-no dishwasher, and all of the water knobs are like the ones we have outdoors in the US
-many of the streets are one way, it's like driving in downtown Austin, but all over the city
-fresh fruits, meats, and vegetables everyday--it's like a farmer's market on steriods
-dogs are EVERYWHERE because spading or neutering your animals is seen as cruelty--almost never happens, but the dogs that are everywhere are SUPER healthy
-all the drivers honk at everyone, literally the horns never stop
-when it's windy, I feel like I live in the Panhandle again, except in a port city
-lots of tv shows are in English with Spanish subtitles
-almost everyone listens to American music
-a local bus ticket costs 220 pesos (about 50 cents)
-putting your toilet paper in the toilet is a no no (don't worry it's definitely not as bad as it seems at all)
-I put my iPhone in Spanish last night--the challenge never ends


Tomorrow I register for courses, hopefully that will go well--and then Friday we go to Neruda's house in Valpo that is up the hill from mine--I will take pictures then. I will also definitely put pictures of my house and the city up, it's just too difficult and busy to take a bunch of photos this week.

Thank you all for reading each day, I hope you are enjoying my posts--if you have any questions or anything, feel free to comment!

Chao po!