Finally a Part of a Chilean Family

Santiago turned out to be a really great time. Valentina, Nina, and I spent many days shopping downtown-can't exactly complain. I fell in love with Chilean bread.

The picture on the left is the group of kids who were the last to go to their host families due to damage from the earthquake. Two AFS volunteers took us on a tour of Santiago on the last day I was there. You can see more pictures of that on my Facebook. The picture posted here is of the view of Santiago from the top of this big hill. We took an escalator type thing up to the top, where there was a giant statue of the Virgin Mary, and I could ALL of Santiago and the Andes Mountains. It was an amazing sight.

I was able to go to my host family in Parral on Wednesday the 10th. Two students from Thailand and I took a bus North, along with two AFS volunteers. We were all dropped off in different places. I happened to be dropped off on the side of the road where my host parents were waiting for me...? We first went to my mother's work-she owns a company that exports blueberries. Then I got to go to my new home! I met my 4 siblings-Kippy (14), Paula (11), and the twins Magdalena and Raul (10). I was really homesick the first night because I was finally in a family, and it wasn't the family I'm used to. It's gotten better each day, and i'm starting to feel like a part of a Chilean family now. My mother, Kippy, and I have gone out a couple times to do some shopping, and otherwise we hang out at home with the housekeepers/nanny while both my parents work.

School was supposed to start on March 3rd, but because of the damage, it's not starting until April 5th. Kinda good, kinda bad. I'll have more time to get better at Spanish before school starts, but going to school will keep me occupied and that's where I'm going to meet friends. I'm excited but nervous too! My Spanish is much worse than I thought...I've accepted the fact that I'm not going to know what's going on most of the time. It gets better everyday though, and my family is very helpful and supportive.

I'll try to keep everyone posted. Thanks for reading!

Chao

Steph