Even when I'm doing the most basic daily activities, I feel like I'm doing something really adventurous and exciting. I guess that's the point of going abroad. The past day has been boring on paper, but I've had fun just riding the subway, going to the department store, and trying to get my laundry picked up and done. I'm still trying to figure out which classes I'm taking, but I am getting some of the basics down and I'm going to join a gym soon... some students found a sweet one with a pool nearby.
Yesterday after classes we went to Falabella, the local department store (I remember it from Argentina also) and looked around a little bit. On the way home, I saw the Andes mountains for the first time. Usually it's too foggy or hazy to see them. I still get excited when I see the Stanford foothills in the distance, because I've always lived in The Land of No Topography... but this was a different story. The mountains are so close, and they are not as much on the horizon as towering above all the buildings in the city. One peak had snow on it, and there is one unique flat-top mountain (which we learned today is called Manquehue). I was pretty exhausted from the night before, so I went to bed pretty early.
This morning I did the transit to school all by myself... it really isn't as hard as I thought it was going to be, but my host mom still made me call her when I got to the center. Apparently the high school students of Santiago are demonstrating/rioting today in the city center (against Transantiago, the transportation organization) so we didn't get to take a walking tour. I understand that it could be crowded and dangerous, but it can't be any worse than Spain after the 3/11 attacks and London after the transportation attacks in July 2005. This afternoon, more orientation and class... but tonight is our welcome dinner and hopefully another fun night out.
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