So don't let my title fool you, I HAD A GREAT DAY! Its meaning will have to reveal itself in time.
My first couple full days in my homestay have been too cool. I feel like things that wouldn't be that exciting for any other person are just so freaking COOL! As my new awesome friend Madie (I actually spelt it right that time!) would say, it's all perspective! WORD! So I slept in pretty late yesterday, I'm on Cali West Coast time still plus they just seem to do that here... and had an awesome breakfast con mi mama Marina. For the last couple mornings she has had the whole little breakfast spread out for me when I wonder from my daze out into the front room and it is really nice to just relax and start my day feeling so loved. Mi mama Marina doesn't work anymore and my papa Oscar often works from home and only goes in when he is really needed, when there is a problem, or he has a business trip (He is a manger for cinemark cinemas and works in most of Western South America). This just means that they have time to spend with me :D And I won't lie I enjoy it. After breakfast yesterday I wanted to take pictures around the house (coming soon) and Oscar came a long with me, little did I know that we were about to head out on a hour and a half long tour of the area (I would have worn better shoes!) Las Condes. We walked through the little park near the house (Las Condes is an interesting part of town that is a mix of old "tranquilo" neighborhoods, mixed with big apartment buildings, along side huge malls and touring office buildings) where I can't wait to take the Dog, Gamba (Prawn! LOL!), to play. She is my buddy. Even tho I'm sure all my clothes are going to have a muddy paw print by the time this trip is over! It's my new fashion statement. After the park it was a few more blocks to the metro stop, Manquehue, and I officially experienced the first half of my walk to school. Right next to the stop is a huge mall, the first in Chile I believe (or something like that), that you sense it older then most and is an awesome maze of less mainstream shops and food. I'm excited to go explore! But on most days i don't think i'll bring my wallet.... that place may be bad for my wallet! Me and papa Oscar had a grand ol' time as he showed me the ropes and helped me get my bearings. One interesting part is when he pointed to one of the new and big office buildings, saying "see that plot, the house I used to live in was right there." I sense this city has come along way as the world continues to meet globalization. Just after the business district we walked threw an even larger park with a big bird house enclosure that just made my day! peacocks, cockatoos, canaries, parrots, etc. Very cool! Other than that nothing too much more exciting, another even bigger, newer mall, and me wishing my cute new black flats were a 1/2 size bigger :/
After our little outing, mama prepared her usual lunch. White rice, steak, salad, another veggie of some kind, yummy bread, and a glass of wine. So steak everyday and wine with every meal! HELLO! Yes please! This just might ruin me.... At lunch I gave out my gifts I got for mis padres and it was super fun to see Marina's eyes light up when I headed her the salad forks from Kenya or Oscar's excitement when I gave him the book about gold rush Grass Valley. We both had a good time looking at the old pictures and maps, which then lead to him breaking out the atlas and giving me a little lesson about Chile, which I desperately needed. Even the metal water bottle I got for their son (he isn't here tho) got Marina excited. Man, I love my host parents. The afternoon was a rest time, which Oscar suggested I needed but didn't want to admit I needed, and he was totally right. I really enjoyed a chill afternoon to catch up with friends stateside, drink tea, and watch TV with Marina. At 8 (well 8:45 but shhh it's Chilean time) we headed out for a family reunion. Oscar's nephew just graduated law school and his side of the family was having a little get together to celebrate. I was pretty scared going into it but it ended up being harmless fun :) Stuffed myself on delicious finger food (they don't make dinner a big deal here), luckily ran into another girl from the program named Katie, she is the host student of Oscar's sister (My new cousin!), and got pretty good/sick of answering the same questions over and over in Spanish. Katie and I became allies and with each others help picking through the sticky moments of miscommunication we were comfortable and happily chatting away in spanish by the end of the night.
Chileans stay out late, its late now lol, and I didn't even roll out of bed until almost noon today! I'm definitely going to try and get up earlier tomorrow, in order to prepare myself for the early awakening that will be monday morning.... Because I got up so late I ate a quick breakfast (lunch?) and headed out for a run in order to punish myself for my laziness. It was wonderful. The sun came out for me while I ran and early spring in this city is just breathtaking. The trees are blooming, the buildings shine, and the snow covered mountains are truly different than anything else I have ever seen. Santiago is just so unique! After my fairly shortish run (I'll have to build myself up to longer distances as I get used to the dry, cold, high mountain, city air) I look forward to it! What made today great, beside the fact that my padres took me out to a movie, was that we picked up Madie on the way! She lives pretty far away but we both figure its tots worth the effort. We'll just have to find a chill hangout place somewhere in between :D The movie was good, but REALLY sad. It was about the life of Violeta Parra, a famous Chilean guitarist/singer (Gracias a la Vida), and any movie that ends with a gun in someone's hand probably doesn't end pretty. Madie came back to my place for some tea then we kicked off our first outing.
The strikes begin....
STRIKE ONE: Walked to the mall next to the metro stop in order to exchange my dollars into pesos. Closed....
STRIKE TWO: We go to next cash option only to find that the ATM won't take my card....
STRIKE THREE: I forgot my keys... Call papa, we work out a plan.
STRIKE FOUR: Madie lends me some money for the metro and while I'm getting my "beep card" at the info desk there is a miscommunication. Didn't help that I couldn't hear the women through the glass, both were getting frustrated, and their was a line of impatient Chileans behind me (I swear when I walked up there was hardly anyone around, just my luck they arrive just as I'm having issues)....
STRIKE FIVE: We get to the stop "closest" to Madie's place only to discover it isn't 2 blocks away from the center by her house that we wanted to go for drinks but TWENTY... her padres came and grabbed us....
After getting to her house, and hour and a half after leaving mine, we had no more strikes :) Just one fantastic chill evening. She ordered a Margarita, I a Mojito, and we just talked about how awesome our lives are, boys, and home towns. Every once and awhile we would stop to laugh at the music playing in the restaurant. Gangster's paradise? Uh, push it? Random other 90's hip hop rap? YES PLEASE. We left the place feeling a lot more at ease and even more excited for adventures to come. While walking through the square by her house an awesome (I'm probably overusing that word) Chilean band was playing music. They were a dream come true! Madie and I finished our day rocking out, dancing with other Chileans in the park, and all and all just stoked on our new friendship. Madie even had her first, i'm blond in Chile moment, when this friendly drunk Chilean man (We nicknamed him twinkle toes!) came to dance near us. All and all it was solid. I caught a taxi home from her place without a problem and sit here now super content.
STRIKE SIX? Not sure if this counts because it is basically linked to STRIKE ONE.
Upon arriving home I couldn't find the keys mi papa said he would hide under a pot... luckily the son of Marina's friend (the one that is nice, awkward, talks fast, asks a lot questions, and studders, remember?) heard me poking around outside and let me in. I couldn't help but laugh at this point....
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