I started my day with an orientation and some Spanish class at the school. My teacher's name is Karina and she is so sweet. I am excited to work with her. I am in the Advanced Spanish 1 level, and I am the only student in her class right now at that level so it's 1-on-1 but will be nice because I will learn a lot. Today we did some grammar and then I watched a Spanish movie and we discussed it some afterwards and she asked me some questions. It was about some of the history of Chile when the dictator was overthrown so I learned a lot.
Laura walked me to the International Center because I had no idea where to go, but after school I had to find my way home by myself! I made it though without getting lost! I also stopped at a tourist booth on the way home and grabbed a map to have just in case I need one in the future. My house is about 2km (1.2 miles) from the center so it is about a 25 minute walk, but it was very enjoyable and beautiful. On my way home, I stopped at the grocery store to buy food for the first time which was quite the adventure. All the food is so different, and they don't have some basic foods like brown sugar, shredded cheese, alfredo pasta sauce, and more. This was just the small store on the corner by our house, so I will have to go to a bigger one and see if they have more stuff. There were people everywhere and they have security guards in the grocery store which is so weird to me. I passed by the same guy like 6 times as I was wandering around and he probably thought I was trying to steal or something.
Then I came home and cooked lunch for the first time. I decided to make macaroni and cheese with nutella toast. Such a cultural food HAHA! I was actually really pumped I found mac and cheese. Something quick and easy. Except we have a gas stove and I had to light it with a match and that proved to be more difficult than expected. It heats the water SO quickly though.
Then Laura and I hung out at home for a while chatting and talking about life, and then at around 4 I decided to go for a walk and explore the city. I went down to the beach which is only a couple of blocks away and walked along the shore for a long time. It was kind of rainy and foggy so it wasn't that great looking, but I can tell it is a BEAUTIFUL beach with such a great view because the city kind of wraps around the coast. I am excited to go there more in the future. Then I kept exploring the city, and it is pretty easy because all the streets go in numerical order besides the three big ones that have names. I never even had to use my map, and I know which numbers I live between so it is easy to find my way home. I ended up at the mall again and explored some more and went into the Lider (which is like their Walmart). Then I was getting tired so I walked home and have been hanging out here with Laura and Grace ever since!
One snapshot from the beach! I uploaded some more to Facebook. I have been waiting to take a lot of pictures until it is sunnier and nicer outside!
It is only in the 50's here at the moment, and none of the houses have central heating here in Chile so it was really cold when we woke up this morning. Thankfully, one of the guys stopped by and showed us how to work the space heaters and it is like a miracle. We only have one on right now, so I put it in my room while I was getting ready for bed and then moved it into the living room and hopped into bed and it is so cozy and warm. Can't wait to do some more learning and exploring tomorrow! I think I will start my internship on Monday after having a full week of Spanish this week.
Another crazy thing... Since we are in the southern hemisphere it is technically fall here instead of spring like it is back home! It is weird because the sun rises much later and sets much earlier than it was when I was in North Dakota, and the trees are changing colors and losing their leaves! Ha. They have HUGE leaves.
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