Chileans like their country. They want you to like their country, too. If you come visit them, they will be more than happy to tell you all they know about their own country. And they will be more than happy to offer you anything that you need, from Chilean cigarettes and pot to advice about how to eat and the correct bus fare. They want you to feel at home, but they make sure to let you know that Chile is a very different country.
But sometimes, sitting in orientation with 44 other Stanford students makes Chile and the U.S. the same place. Like all study abroad programs, the students speak in English to each other (because we look stupid if we don’t know something) and stumble over our words when speaking to our host families where no one can see us. Like all study abroad programs, everyone will be everyone’s best friend for the next few days, and going to get a drink with your friend will turn into a excursion where you go to get drinks with 20 friends and you walk an extra mile very slowly because nobody actually knows where they are going.
But Santiago will welcome you with open arms and a kiss! When Leslie, Jeff, and I made it through an hour long wait in customs after our flight, the cab driver and a tour guide climbed in the van to take us to our host families homes. Our tour guide happily chatted about all the things to see in Santiago (while pointing out that, of course, only gringos go there) and how green Santiago was and how nice Santiago’s roads were, while the driver focused on getting us to the outskirts/suburbs of Santiago. When we pulled up to the apartment at midnight, my host mom was waiting for me at the door (which made me wonder if she had been waiting there since 10 that morning.) She brought me upstairs and introduced me to her youngest daughter and her dogs, while explaining that the rest of the family would be in tomorrow night; and I crawled into bed.
The next morning, I met Ilana and Tonya, the two other girls from the Stanford program who are living in the apartment complex. We took La Migra, the local Chilean bus to school, where we were welcomed by Fabia, who was bouncy and told us everything we needed to know about Chile, which has lasted for about one week now. Everyday starts with all of us deprived of caffeine and slightly overwhelmed by the whirlwind bus ride to “the center.” The shock of the bus ride is followed by a torrent of information about Chile and its specific traditions, interspersed with the first classes of the week. The nights are a combination of trying to get to know my family and meeting up with people from Stanford. Because it’s the first week, everyone is going out, to bars, to dancing, to karaoke. Despite the crazy nightlife catering to American tourists, everyone seems to be getting to know their family and the habits that there family has, talking to their children, etc, even though they’re in the Center all day.
This weekend we are heading out to Viña, where I have determined there will be dancing. And salsa dancing tonight, and a possible hip-hop studio! Balia en todo el mundo! Muchos besitos!