Inbound Orientation

On Saturday, I had my first Inbound Orientation for my Rotary District 4340, here in Chile! It was rather quick. My family drove south a bit to Rancagua, roughly 45 minutes or more away from my town, Talagante! The drive was beautiful because the Andes were directly alongside of us the entire time! When I arrived at the place where the orientation was being held, a beautiful and grand event building, I was so excited to see all of the Blazers because it meant I was finally with people who know exactly what I am going through...but they are also the best people ever! It began with everyone talking for about an hour just in random groups, and coincidentally we grouped up with who was from our country. Germans spoke German with each other, French spoke French with each other, and United States kids paired up with well, the United States kids. Then we went in to a huge room and sat for a bout an hour and listened to some lectures about Exchange. Then all of the exchange students migrated to another room in a building next to the one we were in and greeted each other, traded pins, went over rules, traded pin, laughed. I met so many hilarious, great people! And then, we seriously took about 1 million pictures that by the end of the day my mouth was sore and my eyes were permanently watering from the glare of the sun. But it was definitely worth it! We then went back to the original room we had started in, heard a little bit more lecturing, and then watched some dancers do the Cueca: the national dance of Chile! It is extremely fun to watch and I would recommend that you go on to YouTube and search "The Cueca". It is a huge part of the Chilean culture and is commonly done near the Day of the Chilean, which is tomorrow! And the 18th, Chilean Independence Day! September is the month of freedom and cultural pride, and I am definitely loving that! But back to the orientation, It finished at around 4 after a delicious "Almuerzo" or lunch which is generally the biggest meal of the day here. Once we arrived home, I was absolutely exhausted because I had woken up at 6 AM to leave the house around 8 and arrive before 9:30! I am loving my life here in Chile. I love my school, the people, the fun culture. I know it is not perfect and there are certain aspects of life that are still taking me some time to adjust, but I am very content and happy. There is not a day that I do not go without laughing so hard my stomach hurts! My language is definitely improving but it will and is taking time. As long as I can keep my patience with me I know I can accomplish anything. Understanding, speaking, and learning a language is absolutely exhausting, but I would not change a thing.

School!

My school here in Chile is significantly different than my high school in Washington! I have started attending a school named, "Colegio Carampangue", a private Catholic school in Peñaflor, which is about 15-20 minutes away from my house in Talagante. The first day was really exciting and fun! When I arrived with my host sister, she walked me to my classroom and from there the students came up to me and greeted me each with a kiss on right cheek! I thought it was funny how all the girls were grouped together and came to greet me and then all of the guys were in a group and greeted me. They greeted me in a somewhat line formation so I felt like the Queen or something! From there we took attendance and the homeroom teacher had another boy in the class become my translator because he has perfect English (almost). He spent a few months or so in England, so he speaks with a British accent which is entertaining! From there I went to some classes and was really confused. Then I had lunch. Between each class (the classes are really long) are 10 minute breaks, where we all stand around and talk, kick a ball around, eat food, etc. While (dirty) English music is blasting and people practice dances inside the classroom for an assembly we have coming up next week. The guys in my class are doing a dance to "Wiggle" and my dance has a few different songs. Its fun! I also think I have to learn the Cueca, which is the national dance of Chile! I don't know what is going on at school most of the time, the teachers talk so fast and since I came to the school during the middle of the year, it feels impossible! But oh well. Once I get down Spanish I think my life will be a lot easier! My classmates love hearing me speak English and they equally like speaking English to me to be helpful. School starts at 8:30 and goes to 3:30 except for a few days a week when it goes until 5:30.  I have had my fair share of challenges but I definitely love it here! More to come later! Chao!