Yo Estoy Aqui!!!

I’ve arrived! Not only in Chile, but a la casa de mi familia. It’s been a long time waiting for this moment, from the second I said goodbye to my “familia en los estados,” as I often have to say here.

We stayed in a very nice hotel in Miami, but when you’re waiting, muy ansioso, in a hotel for two days with nothing to do, it’s terrible no matter what. In Miami were kids from all over the US going to only three countries: Chile, Brazil, and Paraguay. We all left on the same day, the 30th, in the afternoon and evening. Except for Tom Randolph, a super nice boy going to Chile with us (whose blog you should totally check out at tomrandolphafs.blogspot.com) - he got sick at the last minute and had to go to the ER. Assumedly he’ll be arriving soon, granted it’s not swine flu!! Swine flu is a big deal here. We were all given masks to wear on the plane in case we felt ill.

Our plane ride was very uneventful. 9 hours on a plane in the middle of the night is bound to be so. Nervous, hungry, bored and tired are no fun at all. But when we arrived in Santiago at 8 AM it was extremely satisfying. We exchanged our money in the aeropuerta (muy interesante!) and met up with the AFS volunteers. I got a “Coke Light” from the vending machine… They’re very different in shape than in the states and much much cheaper. I really want to put up a picture but my camera cord has disappeared, along with my super-nice ski jacket. :(

They took us to a monastery where we stayed for two nights. I hardly want to talk about it! Terrible food, tiny rooms, awful. But it was all preparing us for the morning our families would arrive for us…

The Arenas Riquelmes arrived in their car at about ten in the morning today, el 2 agosto. I got a little teary as I recognized mi hermana (I didn’t recognize the others… Eh he…). We got everything in the car and with the brother and sister of my mother (who were also picking up an AFSer from Italy), we drove home.

Everything is different here. The streets are almost all one way. When they’re not, people drive like locos. We drove about 110 km/hr the whole time, highway or no. Eek!!

We stopped at a rest stop (very similar to those in the states, but cleaner) and an empanada restaurant (almost like fast food empanadas) where the whole family piled out of both cars. The empanadas here are far more simple than the ones that mom makes at home. They are baked also, but with a great deal more dough of greater thickness. I asked mi hermanita to choose for me because I wanted to try everything. Turns out most have only mushrooms, chicken, and cheese or similar fillings.

As we drove (at breakneck speed) into San Fernando, the whole car was full of, “Emeely! San Fernando!” and pointing at every sign for a good ten minutes. I talked with Poncho (mi hermano) the whole time. He spoke to me in English and I spoke to him in very broken Spanish. I’m very glad that he’s here because when he’s not around I feel embarassed about not being able to hold a conversation. I’ve already learned a lot of Spanish with his help and that of my family. Anyway, off track! We drove into San Fernando on the “highway” of sorts. The part of town we drove through was all colorful shacks (which were abundant in Santiago also and very very cool) and stray dogs. They pointed out to me the police, the fire station, and the various markets on the main road. We drove out of San Fernando and down a big hill towards the mountains to get to the house. The whole time I’ve been here, the Andes have been absolutely phenomenal. You can see them from everywhere, snow capped and gigantic and breathtaking. We entered a tiny, run-down village with a few nice homes, exited off the main street, and to the house. There were horse-drawn carriages on the roads and gates or fences around every house. Also, every business and home has guard dogs, so there are dogs in every yard behind the fences.

But we arrived at the house with the cousins of mi familia and everyone met the abuelos and aunts and uncles and cousins (etc) at the house then went outside. We played ping-pong and soccer and so on before lunch. Lunch was plain meat, potatoes, and a salad of tomatoes, lettuce, and corn with lemon (although it all tastes very different from in los estados). The meat wasn’t my favorite - dry and boring; but I loved just being at the table with so many people in one family. We then played more until onces, for which we had a torte de caramel which was not very unusual. After this, the other members of the family all went home. So now it’s only me, mis padres, Poncho, y Alicia.

It’s impossible to explain everything in such a way that it can be understood. But I feel totally connected with mi familia ahora. Whether it’s because Alicia loved my stuffed animals, or Poncho can play rummy now, or that Papá thought the Maple Syrup was cologne, I feel warm and tickly inside. Mi mamá made me dry my hair and turn on the electric blanket so I won’t catch a cold. Everyone kisses here. It’s so friendly and perfecto. I couldn’t be happier.

Tomorrow yo voy a ir al office to get my visa validated and to the store for my school uniform and a jacket. I wish I were going to school tomorrow! But I’ll be going with mamá (who calls me hija, or daughter, aww), her sister, and their AFSer Monica. She and I will go to the same school but she’s a grade below me.

What else?

We have a part-time maid who cleans (vacuuming and such) and cooks meals…

My room is small and simple but very nice for me…

In the bathrooms you have to throw away toilet paper instead of flushing it…

They have (erm, can’t remember the word… ) butt washers… Um… in los baños… (What are they called???)

The girls here don’t shave, they all wax. Underarms too, ouch!! But apparently it’s cheap.

You don’t need a prescription for birth control! Not that I want it, ha, but it’s interesting.

The internet in the house is EXTREMELY slow, so I can’t do Facebook hardly at all. I have it whenever on my laptop, but it’s ridiculously lento.

Instead of the ending “as” for informal verbs, in Chile it’s “ai…” So it’s “como estai?” to a kid…

I have un primo, a cousin, who’s six and says hier for mañana and mañana for hier on purpose and loves to play ping-pong…

I can’t get a hold of postcards anywhere…

The internet is all in Spanish for some reason, even on my bookmarked sites on my computer…

No one drinks water or milk at meals; either juice or regular coke. Or wine, for the adults.

I’m taller than practically everyone (I know, what??)

Well, I think that’s all for now…. I’m super tired. Yo estoy muy cansiado.

Chao, chao, te amo muchas!!

Emily