Valparaiso

After one more day or touring Santiago (where we visited the Cerro Santa Lucia again and the Los Dominicos artisan neighborhood-selling place), we headed off to Valparaiso. Of course, I was reading Harry Potter basically the whole ride, but when I did look at the scenery, the Andes had been replaced by flat fields where smaller hills erupted like a person lying under a sheet on a flat bed.

When we got to Valparaiso, the bus was overcome with amazement, excitement and nervousness. We began to descend down then hill, seeing all the colorful houses, the water, and the beach. The energy in the bus was overwhelming - everyone was nervous about meeting their family while at the same time realizing that this was the beginning not of a vacation, but four months in a completely different country.

As we got off the bus, we were told to stay on one side, get our luggage, and wait for our names to be called so we could meet our parents. Among the sea of people, we couldn't really see the families, but they were trying to look at us just as much as we were trying to check them out.

I met my mother, Angelica, and her son, Gabriel, towards the end of the introductions. And we headed off to their house.

In the pension, Angelica and Gabriel, who is 29 and studying to be a lawyer, both live. I also met Carla, a doctor studying to be a Pediatrician, and Crystal, a student with ISA who is studying in Valparaiso for the summer. Four other Chileans live here, who are all studying engineering, as well as Sigrid, an ISA student who has been in Valparaiso since last semester.

When I arrived, we talked and eventually had dinner - which was a delicious quiche with avocado salad. :-) I can get used to the fact that a kilo of avocados here costs about $1.50, which means a lb would be about 75 cents!

After dinner, we took a drive in the car, so that Gabriel and his neighbor could show me and Crystal around Valparaiso and Vina del Mar, which is literally connected to Valparaiso and very close to where we live.

After our drive, we had some Piscolas (which is the Chilean drink Pisco mixed with Coke) and talked. Chileans have a very interesting way of speaking, which I will have to get used to. They also have a lot of slang, a couple of words which I have now learned... but there are many more to come.