my life has been a complete whirlwind since i left monday. while tuesday into wednesday was moderately stressful, orientation has helped me settle in much easier than i had originally anticipated. as of yet, i have not met one person on this trip who is not amazing. i love the new friends i have made and am so glad our hotel stay happened when it did; im super excited to see what the next four months hold for me.

i met my homestay family today, which for me is a 50-something year old woman named Maria Elena. she has two children, but both are married and have moved out of the house. maria is wonderful :) she doesnt speak english, but is extremely pacient with my slow spanish. she cooked a huge lunch for me around 2 when we got home while i was unpacking all of my things and then afterwards we went to get my bip! card which is basically a smartTrip card, but it gets you on the bus and the metro. then we went to the grocery store and got some fresh fruits and veggies, im 100% sure her cooking is going to be the death of me.

we live in las condes, and there are other students from USAC in this area. to get to school, the fastest way is to take the bus to the metro which all together takes about 40 minutes. based on the cooking/food scene though im going to go ahead and say i am going to walk the 15 blocks to the metro station in the morning and depending if i can find a gym partner, ill go to the gym and shower before my classes.

we live in an apartment and there is a great view of the mountains from my room and from the balcony. its still amazing to me that you can be walking through the city and look over and see these wonderful snowcapped mountains in the midst of 70 degree weather.

finally, i want everyone to know that im making lunchin international. while sitting at dinner last night, i spread the lingo to the ladies at my table who live all over the US and then later in the evening to the chilean bartenders while at the pub. you can thank me later.