The Trip & Day 1

***My internet connection is in and out constantly so I will send a link to pics as soon as I can!!

Wow, I don't even know where to begin. It's 7:30 Tuesday morning and I have so much to tell you. I guess I'll start from my departure and work my way up from there. I flew from Columbus to Atlanta...nothing too exciting there. My flight from Atlanta departed a little late because, according to the captain, someone decided they didn't want to go and they needed to find their luggage from the cargo area before we could leave. Finally after about 20 minutes we were on our way to Santiago. It was about a 9 hour flight in total and almost 4,000 miles. I ate my wonderful airplane meal of lasagna and a salad, washed down with a glass of cheap red wine, took some melatonin and tried to stretch out and sleep (luckily the seat next to me was empty). I awoke around 6:30am as the sun was rising over South America.


They fed us a small breakfast of fruit and a scary egg-biscuit kinda thing with some juice and before I knew it, we were beginning our final descent into Santiago. The view was amazing because there were mountains everywhere! Once we landed we were bussed to the terminal to go thru customs. I followed the crowd and ended up standing in a line to pay an entry fee that I had already paid with my visa...oops! Then I was in line for about 45 mins waiting to go through customs. From there I had to grab all of my luggage (I packed a lot...sigh...) and have it all x-rayed again and then back to the gate for LAN (the airline I was flying on) to check my bags back in. This took a little while because when I changed my departure dates because of the quake, the Delta rep I re-booked with forgot to delete my old itinerary out of the computer. In the end, all worked out and I was on my way. I had a couple of hours to kill so I sat at a little cafe in the airport and drank a jugo de fresa (strawberry juice). I made my way to the gate and sat waiting to meet my roommate. Now for those of you who don't know, I found Ximena through a classified ad that was forwarded to me by a classmate in Concepcion. Before the quake, she was living in a 2 bedroom apartment 1/2 block from campus and was looking for a graduate student for a roommate. We had been chatting through email for a few weeks and decided that we'd give it a try. But once the quake hit, she gave up her place and decided to move back in with her parents. After talking with her parents, they decided to open up their home to me and offer me their extra bedroom. It would help me save money and help them in a time of crisis, so I accepted. The week before my arrival, Ximena was visiting in Santiago so she stayed till Sunday and booked the same flight as mine to Concepcion. I was a little scared because I haven't spoken spanish in conversation in a couple of years and I also know that Chilean dialect is one of the most difficult to understand because they tend to swallow the end of their words. But after meeting her, I had no problems understanding and we were able to chat a get to know each other a little.

The flight to Concepcion was only about a 40 minute ride. The plane was similar to a bus, in reference to the style of seating, and it was packed, so I was happy it was a short flight. Quick side note about food (sorry but you know food gets me excited!!), they gave us a snackbox on our flight and it had alfajores in it!! I used to eat these all the time because Ricky's mom used to make them. They are little shortbread cookie sandwiches filled caramel and these ones where dipped in chocolate, YUM! At the airport, Ximenas mom was waiting there to pick us up. They live in a house that's about a 5 minute drive from campus. It's very nice and modern for Chilean standards. We took our luggage in, Ximena and I have a little mini-apartment in the upstairs loft with a shared common room, bathroom and we have separate bedrooms.

Her mom made us some lunch, which like in Europe, is the biggest meal of the day. We had roasted chicken, a salad made of tomatoes, green beans, cilantro, olive oil, lime juice, and a little salt (super yum!), and slices of avocado (yay!)...oh and bread! Bread and avocado are 2 things that are served at every sitting. I'm super excited about the avocado, the bread is good but definitely don't want to eat it at every meal! Beverages tend to be either juice, tea, coffee or water. And because I'm not used to the tap water yet, they recommended that I hold off on drinking it until my stomach get used to it...bottled only for me and that's one rule I'm
happy to follow! After lunch we did dishes. I mention this because their hot water system is different than anything I've ever seen. They have this 2 big boxes on the wall in the kitchen (one for the kitchen and the other for the bath. Inside them in the system for heating water, kinda of like a pilot light. You push this little handle on the front of the box to maximum and take a match and light the pilot inside. Then when you turn on the water, a flame starts up, much like you would see on a gas stove top, and viola...hot water! I'll try and take a few pics of it in the near future.

After lunch I did a little unpacking and then Ximena offered to take me for a ride around town so I could familiarize myself a little. We drove over to campus, which I actually think I can actually walk to when it's nice out (I'm going to test that theory this week since I don't have classes yet). Then she showed me around the main center of the city and few places around the outside as well. It was so surreal seeing the damages from the quake in person. The streets are really damaged in a lot of places and not just from the actual quake itself but because of the water lines being broken. There are many, many places in the roads that are dug up so they can go in and repair the damaged pipes. There are whole sections of sidewalks and roads that are just completely blocked off because of damages to buildings that are still standing but could collapse further as the aftershocks continue. We drove over the only functioning bridge between Concepcion and San Pedro and even it was damaged on the end near Concepcion. One of the links had collapsed into the Bio Bio river and they have a metal ramp that goes over the broken section. There are 4 bridges that connect to the city and this is the only one that is functioning.

On our way back into town, Ximena invited me a for a drink. We stopped at a Cerveceria (brewery) called Latitud Sur (Latitude South) accross the street from a park that connects to campus. I had my first Chilean cerveza, which was quite tasty, and we sat and chatted about men for a little while (girly bonding time). After that, we headed back to the house where it was time for 'once' (pronounced ohhn-say, as in the #11 in spanish). It's there version of dinner, which like in Europe, is a very light meal. According to Ximena, only men have an actual meal at this time. It's kinda of a manly-man, head of household thing. This is when I got to meet
Ximenas dad. Very nice guy, just like her mom, just a little more difficult to understand. Both her parents are not quite sure how to act around me because they've never had an exchange student in their home. They keep asking questions to Ximena to ask me and she in-turn tells them to just ask me themselves to help me with my spanish. She tells them to make sure they speak regular spanish though and not Chilean dialect so that I can understand better, haha! So back to the food at 'once'. There was a whole selction of different things for the women. Her mom made she and I some hot dogs, although you do not eat them on buns like we do in the states. There was some mashed avocado with lime juice (of course!), scrambled eggs with cheese, different jams and jellies, rolls and breads, Brazo de Reina (literally means 'The Queens Arm') but is what we call a 'log roll cake' that is filled with caramel (super yum) and typically you drink tea or coffee. Now I'm not a person to drink either, I'm perfectly content with water. Her father shared a glass of Santa Rita cabernet with me which was great. I'm so happy to know my Chilean wines!! Her parents gave me this crazy look when I said I don't drink tea or coffee. I was trying to convey that it's just something I don't like and nothing against them...it's going to be a learning process on all parts! After dinner Ximena and I went to her room and watched some tv, mainly news. FYI, we found out that Ricky Martin has accepted his homosexuality...haha!!! Not surprising but still disappointing for such a cute singer! Around 10pm I called it a night. I was exhausted after 24 hours of traveling!

I did get to experience some after effects of the quake. After 'once' last night, the power went out...only for a couple minutes but you could tell Ximena was worried. Then at about 4:15am, I experienced my first aftershock!! I was already a little restless from sleeping in a new place, so there was no question that it woke me up. It was very short and not super strong but there was no doubt about what it was. It started off slow, like you could feel that little queasy feeling in your stomach, and then everything started vibrating stronger and stronger, and then it just settled back down and within 20 seconds or so, it was over! I was so tired, it didn't
bother me a bit. I was actually glad I got to experience it my first night so I knew what to expect. Ximena rushed into my room checking if I had woken up and asked if I was scared. I assured her that I was fine and I rolled over and went back to sleep! And now, it's Tuesday...a brand new beautiful day!

A lot of things are similar to what we have in the states. Car lots consist of Hyundai, Toyota, BMW, Volkswagon, etc...most of them are manual transmissions. Driving still takes place on the same sides of the roads as the states. People are very friendly and helpful, especially Ximena and her family! They do everything they can to help me feel right at home! The weather is still amazing here, but it's what they consider fall and going into their cold season. After living in Cleveland, it's a heat wave!! I'm in skirts and flip flops again...loving it!! It's been 3 years since my last study trip outside the states and to be completely I was a little afraid of not being able to adjust this time, even though I had no problems last time. I remember thinking as we were landing in Santiago, 'wow, am I really doing this again and am I ready for it?!'. But now that I'm here, I'm falling right back into a routine and I love it! No regrets, at all!

Predeparture Jitters!

What an incredible rollercoaster ride the last month and a half have been. I think it started with my trip to Chicago to pick up my visa. Lisa and I decided to make a 3 day trip of it and go see some sites...and explore some awesome food, of course! After our short but fun stint in the big city, I now know it's one of my top cities and I absolutely have to go back!!


The next 2 events were my going away parties. I am so lucky to have an abundance of great friends! First was my dinner party at my house were about 15-20 of my closest and bestest stopped by for one last chance at my tasty food! We had a blast and I'm going to miss cooking and throwing parties and bbqs over the summer. I think that's going to be the first thing on my list when I get back...a big 'I've missed you' party!!


The following weekend was set to be my final weekend at 806 and that Saturday was my going away bash with all my fellow Tremont friends and regulars! So I went to work Friday night, finished up and went to bed, excited for my going away party the next night...or so I thought. I was woken at 9am by a text message telling me that 'now' I definitely was not allowed to go to Chile. Well up to that point I had heard almost every excuse in the book from my friends on why I shouldn't/couldn't go. So after seeing that text, I was thinking 'great, what this time?!'. The response was to tell me there had been a major earthquake in Chile and it hit only 70 miles from where I was moving. Even after reading that, I still thought someone was trying to pull my leg...until I turned on the tv. The longer I watched the more devestated I became, for everyone there and for the fear that my trip was not going to happen. I mean I was set to fly in 8 days and I was still going ahead with my bonvoyage party that night. I stayed glued to CNN and Univision for the rest of the day. That night, I got ready and still partied it up with my friends like nothing had changed, all the while, my heart sinking inside for fear of how the next week would unfold. The next 4 days were brutal. There was no communications, water or gas in Concepcion and all my plans were in limbo. The death toll was slowly rising and nothing was looking promising.I had a friend in Santiago the night the quake hit and was able to hear from her by Monday, but even she said that things were not good. Finally on Thursday I got word from a fellow classmate in Concepcion. He said things were rough, but not nearly as bad as what the news was showing on tv. He advised that I delay my trip till the end of March to give the country a few weeks to recoupe, get utilities turned back on and for the school to get going again. I was so happy to hear that everyone I was in contact with there was alive and well!! The next day I had a meeting with my school advisors to get the final word on whether or not I was going to be allowed to take classes or not. After informing them of my communications with other students and Dean Scherer getting an email from the program director in Concepcion, they agreed that if I felt comfortable going and school was resuming there in April, then I was free to go!

And the new planning began! So much rearranging of plans but it is all totally worth it! My visa is valid for 7 months, so no worries there. I changed my flight and health insurance. Extended my cell phone shutoff date, car insurance and anything else I could think of that needed to be moved. I worked as much as I could the next couple of weeks and was actually kinda thankful that I got to spend some extended time with my friends! Oh how I'm going to miss you all!! Now the count is close, like 2 days away close! My bags are packed and weighed, airport transportation to and from is set and I'm at my parents saying my goodbyes to the family. It's all so surreal that after all the planning, the excitement, jumping through hoops, the disappointment and then the returning excitement...I just can't believe it's happening!

I'm going to miss so much about the states and I don't know what I'll do without seeing and talking to my friends almost everyday. But I cannot wait for the rewarding experience I'm about to have. When I learned of the quake and thought that all was lost for taking classes abroad, I immediately signed up for Habitat for Humanity in hopes of going down to help wherever I could. I am still a member and I am determined to help with whatever and wherever I can! I'm curious to see and experience how economies and communities come together to survive and rebuild. Until next time...