El primer dia de clases

I've officially started my classes- all three of em! But don't be fooled, I'm still taking 16 hours here. So far, todo esta bien. My first class is Latin American Literature and let me tell you: I can understand about half of what mi profesora says. I'm think in a month or so I will be much better off. However, I do continue to surprise myself when I open my mouth and have an actual conversation. Mi profesora told me that my spanish is very "fluid," which I will definitely take as a compliment! :) Other than Latin American Lit, I am taking Advanced Spanish (a 3 part class worth 9 credits) and a class about Latin America and its Cultures. Que bakan (how cool)!

Also, another thing I've found interesting about my school experience: the existence of fotocopiadoras on every block. I've already gone and requested three of my books, completely copied and bound for un precio muy barato! Copyright laws can't touch Chile! I don't even know why they had me buy any books in the US. I got two full books for a little over $6 today. If only I could finish my degree here, I would never have to spend hundreds of dollars on textbooks ever again!!

So anyways, classes are good and I'm making friends with people in my program. Everyone is really cool- but I'm not trying to make American friends! Lets be honest: I'm gonna drop them like a hot cakes once I meet some chileans. I don't need those gringitos cramping my style! :P Hah, just kidding!!

I not only experienced my first Chilean baby shower this weekend (a very interesting, crazy and awkward experience) but also my first ASADO! Oh man, it was fun. There was beer!!!!!! And pisco!!!!! And some really delicious grilled chicken. And tons of other treats that I don't want to list here because I might make you jealous. AND, I met a really cool couple- a chilean guy and an american girl who live in Santiago and want to hang out!

Maybe you will also be interested to know some mannerisms and pecularities of everyday chilean life, yes? I thought so.
1. Chileans greet (by this i mean: women kiss women, women kiss men, and most men shake hands) each other with a kiss on the right cheek whenever you meet someone new, especially when entering a party or when they enter your house, vice versa. This is a very daunting experience when you walk into a room full of people and have to kiss them all. And then you repeat it again when everyone leaves.
2. When referring to one another, Chileans use el to refer to a guy and la to refer to a girl. For instance, if I am referring to my host mom in conversation I would say la Paloma and my host dad is el Jaime. This is a very strange and very informal (some would argue improper) way of speaking that only exists in Chile.
3. As a form of endearment (esp in my host family) everyone has a shortened name. My sister Lorena is la Lore, my sister Paloma is la Poli, and my sister Valentina is la Vale. And me, well I'm la Ale (al-eh)! Its actually kind of confusing because la Vale and I have similar nicknames so we both tend to answer when our host mom is calling one of us, lol.
4. Chileans like salt, a lot. They practically dump it on all of their food.
5. All of the spanish here is very distinctive but the most interesting part of it all is using the tu (informal "you") form. That is because somewhere along the way the chileans changed the tu form to end in -ai instead of -as. So instead of saying como estas, you say como estai. Cachai? Not to mention, the wonderful words "ya" and "po" which, when said quickly (as they always are), equals yapo, sipo or even nopo (the po is just a way of adding emphasis to a sentence that is unique to Chile).

There are many others that I will share with you later but at least you know a little bit more about what I'm dealing with here. Its fantabulous and I love it! There is so much to learn!

Update time

Hola mis gringitos! Como estan?

Everything is great here in Chile!! My host family is fantastic and I feel so lucky to have the oppurtunity to stay with them. Paloma is the cutest little woman and she is so sweet and loving. I feel like she is always trying to take me somewhere and include me in some part of her day. Like today, for instance, we are going to her neice's baby shower. Needless to say, that will be quite an experience! I also had my first experience with the Santiago transportation system yesterday and she was there to guide me. In order for me to reach my school I have to take a bus and then walk to the metro and take that into central Santiago. Then I walk a few more blocks and I am there! I think it takes 30-40 minutes in all. Paloma also took me to get my chilean SIM card today so I now have a cell phone that is completely in spanish, hah!

My host father Jaime is a very sweet man and although he isn't home much, he is always talking to me and trying to tell me about Santiago when he is. He gave me a really beautiful book all about the city and the famous palaces, artwork and fun places to go. He is the president of a nearby university and also teachers spanish. So, he is also constantly correcting me when I make mistakes but that is totally fine by me. I am actually surprised that no one in my family speaks much English. Apparently the older daughters speak fluently but either they are too shy to say anything about it or they don't want me speaking it because I just met the oldest daughter, Lorena, last night and we only spoke in Spanish. Pero, esta bien. Es muy bueno para mi!

I have honestly hardly seen my host sister, Valentina, since I arrived. She is constantly busy with school and friends and when she is here she is on the internet all the time talking to her friends. Ah, to be 17. I remember when I was her age so I really don't mind. But hopefully we will get to hang out more later on during my stay here.

Yesterday I toured around Santiago and my university with the USAC group. It is really beautiful here, albeit cold and slightly grey, but it will warm up soon! I want to take pictures of the apartment (which is absolutely gorgeous) and the city but I'm trying to wait for a day when it isn't so blah outside.

I'm doing pretty good so far with my spanish. I can definitely get my point across in most cases but I am also limited by how little I truly know. The Chilean accent is slightly difficult to understand but everyone has been very patient and nice to me thus far. I've met some Chilean students already through the university so now that I have my cell phone I will hopefully be able to hang out with them and get out of the house more. Plus, classes start on Monday so I will be busy either way.

For those of you who are interested in my schedule:
I have class from 9:35 to 3:30 on Monday and Wednesday with a break from 12:35 to 2:00.
On Tuesday, Thursday and Friday I have class from 11:15-12:35.

Also, in the case that any of you are interested in sending a package or what not the best address to send it to is:
Alec Shannon
Programa USAC
Universidad Andres Bello
Republica 470, Piso 3
Santiago, Chile

However, customs will take away (or steal) expensive items or food (ie. fruit, vegetables, and meat). I think other food items MIGHT be okay.

Well, this turned into a big update! I'm done now- hope you all are well!

Yo he llegado (I have arrived) en Chile!!!

Just letting you all know I'm here safe and sound! There are lots of cool people in my group from all over the US and everyone is having fun getting to know each other. Nothing too interesting to report yet because I've been doing orientation activities all day and they will continue into tomorrow. Although, we were introduced to a group of chilean students this evening who attend our university and work with USAC, the study abroad organization, to plan trips and volunteer work with foreign students. They also plan conversation hours between spanish and english speaking students so that everyone can practice with each other. Needless to say, I'm all over that- already signed up and everythang! AND, I will be meeting and going home with my host family tomorrow night so expect an update (and by request, PICTURES) soon! No promises on how soon since I don't know what the internet situation is at my host family's house but keep your eyes peeled for my next update.

Oh, the suspense :P

The countdown begins: 5 days left!

Whew, time has flown since I wrote in here last! The time is upon me: I am officially making my final preparations to leave this coming Tuesday!! I am feeling such a mixture of emotions right now: excitement, sadness, nervousness, happiness, you name it! To be honest, I think I am still experiencing a bit of denial about the gravity of my upcoming adventure.

Anyways, I have received word about my Chilean family and I wanted to share a little bit of information about them with you all. I will be living in Ñuñoa which is a very nice part of Santiago (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%91u%C3%B1oa). My host family consists of 3 people: Paloma and Jaime, parents, and Valentina, their daughter. They have previous experience hosting female students in their home and they seem like lovely people. You are sure to hear all about them in future posts!

Also, I want to extend a huge thank you to all of my friends, family, and my wonderful boyfriend for making this past week so lovely and memorable for me. I really appreciate everyone taking time out of their schedules to visit with me one last time before I go. The amount of love and support I have received has been phenomenol and I can't say enough how much it means to me! You guys are the greatest and I love you to death! I sure am going to miss all of you.

And now on to the next chapter. . . this time next week I will be experiencing a whole new world. Here's to all the great memories I will make in my new country with new friends: SALUD!