27 January 2011
Gringa Chilena
This is going to be a short post, but I just wanted to let everyone know that I`ve been promoted. I am not just a white girl anymore, I am a Chilean white girl. Or at least that`s what the owner of a furniture store on my street says.
26 January 2011
School, Sisters, and Research
I`m in my second week of classes and there`s a lot of work, but we have a lot of fun too. Right now I`m in the library on campus using their computers.
In recent news, my Chilean sisters came home from Scout Camp on Monday, and they are really great. They`ve already taught me a few slang words and I`ve had very successful conversations with both of them (I love how I rate success in my Spanish conversations by how well I was able to form a sentence). Also, the night they got back, they found a starving kitten outside, so the inhabitants of the house went from 2 to 5 over night. They found out at the vet that it`s a boy and Rafa named him Balù (like the bear from The Jungle Book).
Also, I went to a Spanish church service on Sunday (yay!) with Hilary, and it was really good. I`ve really missed praising God in Spanish with native speakers, it is one of the coolest things ever! The sermon was on David and Goliath (David y Goliat), and since it was such a familiar story, it was fairly easy to understand even though it was a Chilean (see the last post about the weird-ness of their Spanish) with a lisp. One of my vecinos (neighbors) invited me to his church too, which I`m really excited about. My term project for Chile is going to have something to do with missionaries or churches in Chile (at least that`s the plan for now), so just like the vineyard was research for David`s project, going to church is research for mine. By the way, the vineyard was really pretty and quite a fun experience, so both "research" trips have been a success!
I`ve got to go to class now! Ciao!
P.S. We`re going to the beach this weekend!
In recent news, my Chilean sisters came home from Scout Camp on Monday, and they are really great. They`ve already taught me a few slang words and I`ve had very successful conversations with both of them (I love how I rate success in my Spanish conversations by how well I was able to form a sentence). Also, the night they got back, they found a starving kitten outside, so the inhabitants of the house went from 2 to 5 over night. They found out at the vet that it`s a boy and Rafa named him Balù (like the bear from The Jungle Book).
Also, I went to a Spanish church service on Sunday (yay!) with Hilary, and it was really good. I`ve really missed praising God in Spanish with native speakers, it is one of the coolest things ever! The sermon was on David and Goliath (David y Goliat), and since it was such a familiar story, it was fairly easy to understand even though it was a Chilean (see the last post about the weird-ness of their Spanish) with a lisp. One of my vecinos (neighbors) invited me to his church too, which I`m really excited about. My term project for Chile is going to have something to do with missionaries or churches in Chile (at least that`s the plan for now), so just like the vineyard was research for David`s project, going to church is research for mine. By the way, the vineyard was really pretty and quite a fun experience, so both "research" trips have been a success!
I`ve got to go to class now! Ciao!
P.S. We`re going to the beach this weekend!
21 January 2011
"Mi amor, mi reina, mi gringa"
Hey, hey! I´m all unpacked, I can navigate the metro, and I can buy bread by myself. I´d say those are 5 successful days in Chile! My host mom, Carolina, is extremely charismatic and my host sisters are coming back from girl scout camp on Sunday, so I haven´t met them yet. The title of this post are the three names that Carolina calls me on a daily basis: My love, my queen, and my white girl. She also introduces me to others as "mi gringita." I don´t know if she knows how funny it sounds in english to go up to someone and say "this is my little white girl, Sam," but I can´t help but laugh every time I hear it.
Classes are going well, but I have more homework than I anticipated. I have a lot of reading for all of my classes, but they´re all super interesting. I especially like my Spanish profesor, Profesora Mabel. She´s hilarious, and she wrote the two textbooks that we´re using. Chilean Spanish is more confusing than any other Spanish I´ve heard before. We have to learn extra vocab called chilenismos (chilean-isms) in order to understand what anyone around here is saying. One of my favorite chilenismos so far is "cuico/a" which means a snob; it´s fun to say. They also drop the s at the end of words and the d in the middle of some words and just generally talk fast, but I´m getting used to it.
A lot of us have been going to parks or plazas after class. It´s amazing how much green there is in this city. I really need to start putting pictures up. I don´t have internet at my house so it´s hard to find time to post pictures, but it´s also a good thing because it´s less of a distraction than it usually is for me.
I´m gonig to a vineyard today with some Furmanites for "research." There´s a guy doing a project on the wine culture of Chile, so we´re going to do a tasting and tour of a vineyard really close to the city (and yes, the drinking age is 18 here). Until then, I´m going to research for a presentation I have on Monday.
¡Un besito!
P.S. I explained to Carolina what sweet tea is, and we´re going to make some later! So excited!
Classes are going well, but I have more homework than I anticipated. I have a lot of reading for all of my classes, but they´re all super interesting. I especially like my Spanish profesor, Profesora Mabel. She´s hilarious, and she wrote the two textbooks that we´re using. Chilean Spanish is more confusing than any other Spanish I´ve heard before. We have to learn extra vocab called chilenismos (chilean-isms) in order to understand what anyone around here is saying. One of my favorite chilenismos so far is "cuico/a" which means a snob; it´s fun to say. They also drop the s at the end of words and the d in the middle of some words and just generally talk fast, but I´m getting used to it.
A lot of us have been going to parks or plazas after class. It´s amazing how much green there is in this city. I really need to start putting pictures up. I don´t have internet at my house so it´s hard to find time to post pictures, but it´s also a good thing because it´s less of a distraction than it usually is for me.
I´m gonig to a vineyard today with some Furmanites for "research." There´s a guy doing a project on the wine culture of Chile, so we´re going to do a tasting and tour of a vineyard really close to the city (and yes, the drinking age is 18 here). Until then, I´m going to research for a presentation I have on Monday.
¡Un besito!
P.S. I explained to Carolina what sweet tea is, and we´re going to make some later! So excited!
17 January 2011
¡Estoy aqui!
This is now my second day in Santiago and I am about an hour away from meeting my host family! Yesterday was extremely long but great. After a trip through immigration and customs, we headed to a hotel where we stayed last night and where I am now using the internet. The day consisted of some napping, some eating, some running, and lots of exploration. We ate at an Italian restaurant for lunch AND dinner and it had delicious icecream. I went running with Cara and Hilary, and we got to see a lot of Providencia, the neighborhood we´ll be living in. Last night ended with card games on the roof. Today has been spent on an orientation meeting and checking out of the hotel. Now we´re all just waiting to meet the families we´ll be spending the next three months with!
It´s absolutely beautiful here. It´s a city full of contrasts, with tall buildings surrounded by huge trees, modern architecture next to old buildings, and palm trees in the same view as the Andes mountains. I wish I could just wander around takng pictures instead of starting class on Wednesday, but I guess the ´´study´´ part of study abroad is kind of important. I am looking forward to some classes here, especially the Chilean culture and history class, but I´ll update you about those after they start.
It´s getting close to the time for my host family to pick me up, so I´m going to go wait in the lobby. ¡Hasta luego!
It´s absolutely beautiful here. It´s a city full of contrasts, with tall buildings surrounded by huge trees, modern architecture next to old buildings, and palm trees in the same view as the Andes mountains. I wish I could just wander around takng pictures instead of starting class on Wednesday, but I guess the ´´study´´ part of study abroad is kind of important. I am looking forward to some classes here, especially the Chilean culture and history class, but I´ll update you about those after they start.
It´s getting close to the time for my host family to pick me up, so I´m going to go wait in the lobby. ¡Hasta luego!
14 January 2011
Goodbyes
I leave for Chile TOMORROW NIGHT from Atlanta Airport. Last minute packing and shopping have taken over today as I try not to forget anything. I'm getting really excited as it gets closer, but it still hasn't hit me that in about 38 hours I will be on the ground in Santiago. I don't know whether I'm more excited or nervous. I know it will be tough to get used to the language and the city, but I'm looking forward to being confident in my Spanish and in getting around Santiago.
I've already said goodbye to some friends from home, my friends at Furman (who I spent a lover-ly snow day with!), a lot of extended family, and my brother Justin. Justin was definitely the hardest to say goodbye to because he's also leaving for three months. He is an Air Traffic Controller for the Air Force and is deploying to Iraq. He left yesterday, and my family and I went to see him off at the airport. I'm so proud of him! We'll be even farther from each other than we are from the rest of the family, and it will be so nice to see him again in April. Now I just have to get through goodbyes with my brother Jonathan, who I will also miss very very much, my parents, and our dogs. Those aren't going to be easy either. I'm not one to be homesick, but I still am not a fan of goodbyes. I guess they're needed for opportunities like this, though!
Lord willing, my next post will be from Santiago!! Until then, ¡vaya con Dios!
I've already said goodbye to some friends from home, my friends at Furman (who I spent a lover-ly snow day with!), a lot of extended family, and my brother Justin. Justin was definitely the hardest to say goodbye to because he's also leaving for three months. He is an Air Traffic Controller for the Air Force and is deploying to Iraq. He left yesterday, and my family and I went to see him off at the airport. I'm so proud of him! We'll be even farther from each other than we are from the rest of the family, and it will be so nice to see him again in April. Now I just have to get through goodbyes with my brother Jonathan, who I will also miss very very much, my parents, and our dogs. Those aren't going to be easy either. I'm not one to be homesick, but I still am not a fan of goodbyes. I guess they're needed for opportunities like this, though!
Lord willing, my next post will be from Santiago!! Until then, ¡vaya con Dios!
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