Tonight concludes my first week here in the beautiful mountains of Chile. To recap, we have to go back to last Friday. The ride over was brutally long. But with the help of some fellow brothers going to my orientation we made it a-okay. Initially, arriving in Santiago, we (Kobie, Nathan, Cody, and I) were quite disoriented. In fact, had we not seen another girl with a Rotary blazer on, I probably would not be here right now. However, we found the right people, got our boarding passes for the next flight, and got to sit down and relax for a couple hours with was much needed. There we got to know our entire district in Chile (D. 4355). We have a diverse group of Germans, Americans, Bermudans, and French. They are all incredibly nice and we enjoyed the first two hours together getting to remember each others names and breaking the ice with some classic universal fun. We had one more flight and a nice 2 hours bus ride until we finally stationed ourselves for the weekend at the Salto del Laja hotel in Los Angeles. During our orientation we enjoyed each other's company, played fun and insightful games, and ate great chilean food. We got to really get to know and stay up late talking to our Rotex leaders, Romi and Javier, as well as get to meet three Chileans who just finished their exchanges. One who stayed in Germany, another for It was the perfect way to get break the ice for our year to come. I am definitely going to remember that weekend for the rest of my trip.
Now on Sunday all the parents of the kids in our district got picked up by their families. My and the other future Coyhaique resident did not get this pleasure because, well, we had two more flights the next morning to make the trip down to our southern home of Patagonia. That night we both stayed in very welcoming houses of fellow Rotarians. Max does not speak Spanish so even though he is german I translated everything (everything that I understood that is) into English, our common ground. It was a very calm night leading into a very hectic morning of flying and waiting for the moment I had been waiting a very long time for, meeting my host family. My baggage had been a problem the entire trip and continued to be a problem as the dimensions of my carry-ons were, let's just say, pushing it a little bit. On my last flight I was so anxious that I couldn't even read. I was just sitting there, absorbed in everything that was going on around me. May I say, the view from the plane coming into Balmaceda airport (one hour from Coyhaique) was un-freaking-believable. Absolutely spectacular. When I landed I turned to my right and I could see in the distance waiting for me inside was my family. Balmaceda airport is much different than what I am used to. It has space for one airplane only. As soon as I got to baggage claim and was ready to grab my stuff I was swarmed by my family. They are so sweet. We exchanged greetings and took pictures and then we were off to the house! The ride to the house is jaw dropping. From the airport to Coyhaique is one hour of beautiful snow capped mountains of Patagonia. Once we arrived in Coyhaique and unpacked everything it was dark out so I did not get to see much of the city. However, my family had two of my Rotary counselors come over for dinner and conversation. That was a great way to start my exchange and Coyhaique.
After five days into my stay in Coyhaique, I could write for hours. However, I do not want to bore y'all. I'm going to give you the simplified "low down". So the town is absolutely beautiful. There are snow-capped mountains that you would think were painted in the sky surrounding the entire city (about the size of Burlington). My family are so welcoming and caring I can't talk about them enough. My mom is treating me like I am one of her own. I have known my sister for only five days but I feel like I have lived here forever. Her and I are getting very close. It's bittersweet because on Wednesday she is going to France for an exchange and I will not be seeing her most likely for a long long time. My brother and I have a lot in common and enjoy bonding over the local drink "Maté". My dad is a very caring and is willing to help me along with my language skills and anything I need in my daily routine. That leads me to my first obstacle of the exchange, speaking Spanish. I spoke alright during orientation so I expected to be do alright in Coyhaique. I was proven wrong right from the start. Small talk. I am fine, hi how are you where are you from etc. However, when we move into deeper questions like what class do you have next? Or, how times have you eaten today? We start moving into some shady territory. Each day I am getting better and better. By the end of the month I should be able to understand my family most of the time (I hope). For those of you who do not know, Chileans speak the some of the fastest Spanish in the world and have the most slang. It is very difficult to understand sometimes. You know me though. I speak with my face and my body language, my message can get across.
Today was my first day of school. I did not understand anything in the beginning. When the teachers do not write on the board to highlight the things they are saying, I don't understand almost anything. But when the teachers are writing on the board (or in Math, writing problems), I can sort of understand what's going on. The school is a little bit different than back at home. The teachers switch classes and the kids stay in the same classroom for every class. Also, you get a two hour lunch break where you go home to eat because in Chile lunch is the biggest meal. Because of this, I got out of school at 6 PM today. I actually kind of like school it better with the big breaks. Tomorrow is my birthday. I am excited to see what a Chilean birthday is like. I wish you all a good time wherever you are while reading this and I'll be writing soon again to tell you more about my year long adventure. Nos vemos.
Weston
Now on Sunday all the parents of the kids in our district got picked up by their families. My and the other future Coyhaique resident did not get this pleasure because, well, we had two more flights the next morning to make the trip down to our southern home of Patagonia. That night we both stayed in very welcoming houses of fellow Rotarians. Max does not speak Spanish so even though he is german I translated everything (everything that I understood that is) into English, our common ground. It was a very calm night leading into a very hectic morning of flying and waiting for the moment I had been waiting a very long time for, meeting my host family. My baggage had been a problem the entire trip and continued to be a problem as the dimensions of my carry-ons were, let's just say, pushing it a little bit. On my last flight I was so anxious that I couldn't even read. I was just sitting there, absorbed in everything that was going on around me. May I say, the view from the plane coming into Balmaceda airport (one hour from Coyhaique) was un-freaking-believable. Absolutely spectacular. When I landed I turned to my right and I could see in the distance waiting for me inside was my family. Balmaceda airport is much different than what I am used to. It has space for one airplane only. As soon as I got to baggage claim and was ready to grab my stuff I was swarmed by my family. They are so sweet. We exchanged greetings and took pictures and then we were off to the house! The ride to the house is jaw dropping. From the airport to Coyhaique is one hour of beautiful snow capped mountains of Patagonia. Once we arrived in Coyhaique and unpacked everything it was dark out so I did not get to see much of the city. However, my family had two of my Rotary counselors come over for dinner and conversation. That was a great way to start my exchange and Coyhaique.
After five days into my stay in Coyhaique, I could write for hours. However, I do not want to bore y'all. I'm going to give you the simplified "low down". So the town is absolutely beautiful. There are snow-capped mountains that you would think were painted in the sky surrounding the entire city (about the size of Burlington). My family are so welcoming and caring I can't talk about them enough. My mom is treating me like I am one of her own. I have known my sister for only five days but I feel like I have lived here forever. Her and I are getting very close. It's bittersweet because on Wednesday she is going to France for an exchange and I will not be seeing her most likely for a long long time. My brother and I have a lot in common and enjoy bonding over the local drink "Maté". My dad is a very caring and is willing to help me along with my language skills and anything I need in my daily routine. That leads me to my first obstacle of the exchange, speaking Spanish. I spoke alright during orientation so I expected to be do alright in Coyhaique. I was proven wrong right from the start. Small talk. I am fine, hi how are you where are you from etc. However, when we move into deeper questions like what class do you have next? Or, how times have you eaten today? We start moving into some shady territory. Each day I am getting better and better. By the end of the month I should be able to understand my family most of the time (I hope). For those of you who do not know, Chileans speak the some of the fastest Spanish in the world and have the most slang. It is very difficult to understand sometimes. You know me though. I speak with my face and my body language, my message can get across.
Today was my first day of school. I did not understand anything in the beginning. When the teachers do not write on the board to highlight the things they are saying, I don't understand almost anything. But when the teachers are writing on the board (or in Math, writing problems), I can sort of understand what's going on. The school is a little bit different than back at home. The teachers switch classes and the kids stay in the same classroom for every class. Also, you get a two hour lunch break where you go home to eat because in Chile lunch is the biggest meal. Because of this, I got out of school at 6 PM today. I actually kind of like school it better with the big breaks. Tomorrow is my birthday. I am excited to see what a Chilean birthday is like. I wish you all a good time wherever you are while reading this and I'll be writing soon again to tell you more about my year long adventure. Nos vemos.
Weston
Photos from the Airports/Plane Rides:
Photos from Orientation:
Photos from the first few days in Coyhaique:
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