First Days in Santiago!

I got into Santiago at about 7:30 on Sunday morning. My flight from Atlanta had about 10 Stanford students on it and we had a fun time figuring out which lines to wait in for immigration... to pay the $100 "reciprocity" fee, to get our passports checked, to go through customs. Six of us piled into a "transfer" airport taxi and took off towards Las Condes, the neighborhood on the East side of Santiago that we all lived in.

When I got to my apartment, my host parents were asleep! Apparently they had a long night out with some of their young friends... but my host sister (Daniela, age 9) opened the door and let me in. I managed the awkward introductions and basic information about myself, and then Dawn, the Stanford student who was with my family last quarter, showed up for a visit. She's still in the area because she traveled to Bolivia and other places for a few days. She passed out pastries and things became a little less awkward... plus Dawn gave me tons of information on the new transit system, how to do laundry, and much more so it was very helpful. My littler sister (Fernanda "Fefi", age 3) finally emerged from her room, so I gave my family the mountain of presents my Mom and I bought. They liked the books and the t-shirts, and my little sister loved the High School Musical stuff I got her, even though she already owns so much paraphernalia already. They disregarded the peanut butter... but that means that I can eat some of it too! We had a nice breakfast of empanadas and grapes, and we all talked about the basics of living in Santiago.

Later that afternoon my family and I went to visit my father (Claudio)'s mother, who lives in the neighborhood of Maipu next to my father's brother and his kids. On the way my family drove me through the entire city, pointing out old churches, the library, the Moneda (government building), and other sites. It was really nice to have a real Chilean meal (we had chicken soup, tomatoes, onions, salad, french fries) and to meet the family. We also stopped by a huge, beautiful church in the area, Basilica Del Carmen Santuario Nacional, where hundreds of people were inside the cavernous sanctuary attending mass for Palm Sunday. Outside the church there was a huge plaza surrounded by columns where dozens more people were selling balloons, candy, and little palm decorations to honor the day. It was so cool! On the way back home, I was falling asleep on my sister's shoulder, seeing as I had wasted time watching Volver on the plane instead of sleeping, and I went to bed as soon as we got home, around 9:00.

This morning I got a ride to the Stanford center from my host mother's father, who is also hosting a student. We had several hours of orientation, which was boring but useful. For lunch a bunch of us walked around Providencia (nice neighborhood in Santiago) to check out the restaurants and shops. I didn't need to buy a cell phone, because Wendi left me one! I wouldn't recommend calling, and I have no idea how many minutes I have, but my number is 011 56 9 873 307 43 from the US.

Hope everyone's doing great. I am awkward and I miss the US, but I'm having fun. Tonight I'm going out to do karaoke... sweet!