Week 2

I apologize for not posting this yesterday as my computer charger was broken, so I couldn't really use my computer. Crisis averted though as a have a new charger that works now. Yay!

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This week was my first full week in Chile, but it feels like a lot longer. So far, I am loving the city and all the people that I have met through the Ecela School. Everyone is so cool and interesting; all with different life stories that have all brought them to Santiago, Chile. Anywho, here goes my week...

Monday, 6/10/13

Today was my first day of classes at Ecela. Last week, I stopped by Ecela to take the placement test. Today I learned that I was placed into the C1 group, which is the second highest level that the school offers. The C level focuses on various topics that affect Latin America. This week our conversations centered around politics of the world.  My first language class included me, Tatiyane, a woman from Brazil, and Kevin, a guy from South Korea who now works in Chile.  We spent time reading through our textbook and discussing different themes, such as women in politics and immigration. The first session lasted from 9-10:40, and then we broke for a 20 minute break. Following the break, I had class from 11-12:40. That class was more conversationally focused and included me, Tatiyane, Kevin, Edna from Brazil, Alice from Brazil, Bernard from Belgium, and Cristian, a guy born in Ecuador but now lives in New York. With this group of people, we continue to discuss many different political issues that affect our countries in various ways. Each day, we produced a very interesting and insightful conversation about political issues, completely and almost fluently in Spanish. It was amazing to see how much Spanish I actually knew and I was happy that I was able to somewhat articulate most of my ideas.

After class ended, we broke from lunch and orientation. For orientation, we met other students who were starting school that day and had some empanadas for lunch. Empanadas are a staple of the Chilean diet, along with rice, beans, meat and potatoes. It seems that no one really eats vegetables. There were only 3 other people in orientation - Clementine from France, Flaurent from France, and Clare from Long Island, NY. Everyone was so nice at lunch and we began chatting and getting to know each other. So far, everyone that I've met has been so kind, genuine and interesting.

After lunch, the people from orientation, Edna and Tatiyne (Brazil women in my class who are also friends), and the Buffalo group embarked on a city tour with some guides from Ecela. The Buffalo group is a group of about 25 students from SUNY Buffalo who are here on a school trip for 3 weeks. Half of the students are Education majors and half are Sociology majors. So anyhow, we embarked on a city tour and saw Santa Lucia, La Moneda (President Piñera's office) and the government district, the Ex Congreso Nacional and Plaza de Armas as well as the Metropolitan Cathedral of Santiago.

After a long day in the city, I finally headed home. In order to get home I have to take the metro to the bus, which is called the Micro. I am starting to get the hang of it and am feeling like a regular Santiago girl, minus the blonde hair...

Tuesday, 6/11/13

Today was my second day at Ecela. Today's schedule was the same as yesterday's and will be the same for the rest of the week. The people in my classes also remain the same for the rest of the week. The first class is grammar focused for the lower levels, A and B, and topically focused for level C. The second class is a conversation class for people of all levels. I am grouped with people in B2, C1 and C2 levels for my conversation class.

After another day at school practicing spanish, I headed to a vegetarian restaurant around the corner from school with some of my new friends - Clementine from France, Juliette from England, and Alessandra who is Colombian, but lives in Buffalo and goes to SUNY Buffalo. Like I said before, everyone is so interesting and has so much to say, especially because we all only have such a finite amount of time together in Santiago everyone seems to want to say all the can because everyone wants to make new friends in this amazing country and to learn from others perspectives and experiences. This is something that I really enjoy.

After lunch, Juliette, who has been in Santiago for 2 months already, gave Clementine and me a tour of some of her favorite areas of the city. We walked through Plaza Italiana, which is the historic center of the city and where everyone gathers if something big happens such as a presidential election. We then walked through a beautiful park called Parque Balmeceda, which runs along the Mapocho River. The river is very dry because Santiago doesn't get much rain and thus the river is primarily made up of water from the mountains. It is named after the indigenous Chileans or the Mapochos. After walking for what seemed like forever, we arrived at a beautiful market called Mercado de la Vega. There were rows up rows of beautiful fresh fruits and vegetables, hearty slabs of meat and many different kids of seafood. It was a very amazing place to walk through, but it was also slightly unsettling because of all the cat calls. Chilean men really like foreign women and don't hesitate to show how much they do. They especially like blonde hair, light eyes and pale skin because it automatically signals to them that you are wealthy and are from the United States or Europe. So of course, my bright blonde hair has consistently brought me a lot of stares and unwanted attention  At first, I thought it was kind of funny, but now it makes me uncomfortable.  But alas, it is just something I have to deal with for the next 6 months.

After the market, we tried some jugo naturale (fruit smoothie) and some pumpkin break from a street vendor. Both were delicious. Sometimes food here surprises me, especially the plethora of beautifully large and colorful produce readily available each and everyday. Agriculture is still a big industry in Chile as well as copper mining. We then meandered back to Plaza de Armas, but this time we went inside the beautiful and ornate church. Chile is a very catholic and religious country.

Finally after a long day, I met up with some other friends at Casa Ecela, which is the house where some Ecela students live, and then we headed to a bar to watch the Chile vs. Bolivia soccer game with some other friends and Chileans. Chileans love their futbol/soccer, so I really enjoy watching games with them and hearing their cheers when Chile scores. Fortunately, Chile won again,! 3-1! Chi-chi-chi Le-le-le! Viva Chile! At the bar, I tried some very Chilean drinks - Pisco Sour and Piscola. Clearly, Pisco is a very popular liquor here. After the game, I headed home.

Wednesday, 6/12/13

Today was my third day at Ecela. Same people in my class and same class structure. The most interesting and infuriating thing that happened in class today was that the teacher went on a sort of "I hate America" rant. She tried to explain to several Americans and other students that she thought the 9/11 attacks were a conspiracy by the government to gain international attention because buildings don't fall down straight, but rather to the side. This whole rant was in Spanish, of course, but that was the gist of it. I was so furious and I just didn't know how to respond. How dare you tell me that the worst terrorist attack on my country was a hoax. I'm not coming into your country and telling you that the Pinochet dictatorship didn't happen and that it was just a conspiracy by your government. I left class feeling very angry. I guess I always knew that there were a lot of people that don't like the US, but I had never experienced something so ludicrous. But apparently, this is a fairly common viewpoint of many Chileans, and I guess the US is a lot less liked than I thought it was. So far, Chile is really opening my eyes to many new perspectives on politics, on the US and on worldwide problems of poverty and education.

After class, a group of us headed out to lunch at a Peruvian restaurant nearby. Chilean food is not that good, but Peruvian food is amazing, and fortunately there are a lot of Peruvian immigrants in Chile and thus a lot of wonderful Peruvian restaurants  I went to lunch with Nate from Massachusetts, Rachel from New York, Nicole from Arizona, Huw from England and Juliette. After a nice lunch of ceviche and shrimp risotto, my favorite lunch so far, I headed home to relax for a bit until venturing back out into the city.

Most people from Ecela are friends on Facebook, so we do a lot of evening planning via Facebook, which is super useful. Half of the group wanted to go to Miercoles, Po, which is a weekly party that happens on Wednesday nights for all of the exchange students in Chile as well as Chileans. The party is free for foreigners I believe. Unfortunately, the venue was far from school and even further from home, so a few other people and I opted for karaoke night at our new favorite bar, Mito.

Thursday, 6/13/13

Today was the fourth day at Ecela, and class continued as usual. Fortunately, the conversation today was a lot less politically charged. After class, I met up with Nicole for a quick lunch. There are a lot of interesting cafes around in the Providencia area, so we just picked one and tried it. It turned out being fairly decent, and it had vegetarian options for Nicole as well. Other than that, today was relatively uneventful. There was an interesting man on the bus home who was recounting the entire history of Chile. I could understand a portion of what he was saying, so I was happy about that. There are always interesting street performers on the bus, but not as many in the subway stations. So far on the bus, I have seen clowns, a beatboxer/rapper, a trio of spanish guitars and a panpipe, an accordion player, and a guy playing some sort of noisemaker. Santiago is a very interesting city to say the least.

Friday, 6/14/13

Today was the fifth day at Ecela, but it was also my friend Dec's last day at the school as he was headed back home to England on Saturday morning. So the entirety of Friday was a big celebration for his last day. So after class, 10 of us headed back to the Peruvian restaurant because it's Dec's favorite restaurant in Santiago. After lunch, I went back home, only to return to the city a few hours later for more festivities. Eduardo from Brazil and Huw from England had planned a huge BBQ for Friday night and had invited 20-30 people to come over to Casa Ecela for the meal. The boys grilled delicious steak and sausage as well as prepared various salsas and potatoes salads. All of the food was fantastic and it was such a lovely event. At the party that occurred after the BBQ, I got to now a lot new people who aren't in my class at Ecela or who used to go to Ecela but are still living in Santiago. All of the new people that I met were so fascinating and each and every conversation I head was super engaging, whether it be debating the US vs. British education system, arguing for and against US intervention in Syria with a Swiss girl, or discussing modern slavery and female trafficking   Everyone at the school is so passionate about such widely different topics. After we all had finished gorging ourselves on delicious meat from the Mercado de la Vega, we headed back to Mito for Dec's last night, and ended the week with a bang.

Saturday, 6/15/13

Today we went horseback riding in the Andes mountains. It was so much fun! Everyone met at the school around 11am and then we took a bus for about an hour until we arrived at a beautiful equestrian barn on the outskirts of the city. We had a wonderful Chilean BBQ with all different kinds of meats and salads. While we dined on our succulent food, we looked out over the vast Andes mountains at one of the most beautiful views ever. After lunch, everyone met their horse. Mine was a beautiful brown one named Chico. As soon as everyone learned the basics of steering a horse, such as left means left and right means right, we embarked on our adventure in the mountains. We spent 3 hours traversing up and down the mountains and were able to experience some of the most beautiful views. Each and every day that I have been in Chile so far, I have become more and more impressed with the beauty and culture of the country as well as the people. I'm loving Chile so much so far and I'm loving all of my adventures. I've only been here a week, but it feels like a lifetime.

Sunday, 6/16/13

Today was yet another lazy Sunday. I did end up leaving the house to meet Nicole at the mall in Manquehue. There are a lot of malls in Santiago, and Chileans are very serious about their shopping. Unfortunately  I am finding things to be quite expensive here because a lot of the goods are imported from the US and so they are just inherently more expensive.

After spending the afternoon shopping, I went home to Skype my family and to wish my Dad a Happy Father's Day! I always love catching up with my family! Love them and miss them!


And so, that's a wrap of my first crazy fun and amazing week in Chile. I'm looking forward to the many more adventures to come! Lastly, the pictures that accompany this blog post can be found on my Facebook page. If you'd rather that I include pictures in the post, please let me know.

Best,
Lesley