New Family… Again

I switched families, again. This is the fourth family I have had throughout the entire trip, while this is the second for everyone else. Before we left America, they told us that it is extremely rare for people to switch families and that if you do, it’s usually because of a problem with the student, not the family. Oops? I’m pretty sure I’m not actually that difficult to live with, my ex “mom” just wasn’t used to living with anyone.

So I switched homes. It was an extremely stressful experience. I talked to my coordinator, Paula, and she said all my reasons were extremely valid, otherwise she wouldn’t let me switch. I kept telling her how bad I felt about leaving that lady, but in the end, Paula said my reasons were totally valid and that it was entirely my decision. Great.

I was torn between the fact that I wanted to move and the fact that I felt really bad leaving that lady because it was obvious that she is lonely and just wanted some company. But that’s what friends are for, not foreign exchange students.

The fact that the internet that I had to pay for (which was extremely expensive) was absolutely awful was one of my deciding factors. I could never Skype with anyone and it would just stop working about every 10 minutes and would stay offline for at least 5 minutes, sometime for 20. It was terrible. And like I said in my first post after I met her, we just didn’t click.

So last week Paula took me family shopping. We visited 3 different homes. The second was a very interesting house and there were 3 girls – 7, 10, and 13 years old. A little too much for me. The third home was beautiful and in the richest neighborhood. The family seemed nice but a little frigid. Paula also told me that I might have problems discussing Mauricio’s class on the Chilean dictatorship with them since they seemed extremely right wing. And even if they didn’t have that problem, it didn’t matter because my mind was already made up – I loved the first house we visited.

Moving out was a super secret mission. I left the house on Friday around 8 and then Paula called my mom to tell her the news. I returned with Paula around 2. Walking in and saying hello to her was absolutely awful. I quickly packed all my things (quickly meaning it took me about 45 minutes) and we left. But not before the lady awkwardly asked me if I had anything to say to her. “Lo siento…” (Sorry). And how I felt about what I was doing. “Yo siento malo…” (I feel bad).

I felt so bad about the situation that the night before I barely slept. But I forgot all about that as soon as arrived to my new home. It is absolutely wonderful.

There is always hot water, unlike the other house. There is a wonderful estufa (portable heater) in my room. A pool in the backyard. A beautiful golden retriever named Happy. And an amazing family.

My new room.

There is a mom who ironically is a social worker just like my “ex mom.” She is super nice, not overbearing and just perfectly kind. There is also a maid/cook/grandma type lady who comes during the week. I only saw her for a little bit because she left for the weekend but apparently she cooks very well and she seems very kind.

My “brother” is 13, except he looks like he is 16. He is very sweet; always asking me if I want something to drink or eat and I actually have spent the most amount of time with him than anyone else in the family. Today he took me on a walk around the neighborhood. An absolutely horrendous tour in the sense that I still have no idea how to get to the bus stop or where I am in relation to basically anything in the neighborhood, but it was fun nonetheless. And that’s not his fault, I have a terrible sense of direction – I’ve already gotten lost in this city more times than I can count. We took Happy with us on our walk and Happy is exactly what his name suggests: very very animated. He pulled so hard on the leash that my brother had to go running after him (his leash is a chain by the way). He only likes to go where he wants to go so sometimes we had to stand at a street corner and tug at his chain-leash until he finally felt like moving. And then at one point he decided to lie down in a mud puddle so he came home muy sucio (very dirty). He also tries to play with every single dog we pass. And there A LOT of dogs in Santiago. Almost every single house we passed has at least one. And each one needs to defend its territory, meaning jump and bark (as loudly and angrily as possible) at any dog that walks by. Poor Happy.

I also have a 21 year old “sister.” She is a huge reason as to why I chose this house. She was extremely friendly and open with me when we came on our “shopping day.” She studied abroad in Barcelona this past semester which is why she wanted to host a student this semester – because she knows what it’s like to be alone in a new city, let alone a new country, and not be comfortable where you are living.

This house has the perfect amount of happiness, friendliness, kindness, and also privacy. In the other house my “ex mom” didn’t even let me close my door all the way. Oh, and it has internet.

But on another note. I haven’t actually done a lot since my last post. Santiago has turned into my life rather than a vacation. No trips to waterfalls and national parks every weekend like in Cuenca. And no luxurious feasts like in Buenos Aires. I have a schedule that doesn’t change from week to week and the city is starting to feel familiar.

I did go to Viña del Mar and Valparaiso last weekend. They are two towns located right next to each other but they seem like they are worlds apart. That is because Viña del Mar is a modern, much more touristy, beach town and Valparaiso is a fairly poor, yet very cultural and beautiful town.

Valpo

It was great to be by the water; it isn’t often that I get to touch the Pacific Ocean.

The two towns are also known for their fish. Excellent fish. Except the only problem is that I’m not a very big fan of fish. So when the sauce of the fish that I ordered turned out to be a sauce made of seafood, I wasn’t very happy. Too much fish. But overall, the towns are absolutely wonderful and we will be returning there many times throughout the year since they are cheap to get to and only an hour away from Santiago.          

just some pups eating some garbage on the beach

                                                                                         

the dogs chased that poor horse up the little hill and bit its legs. Poor horse, even though police horses should not be afraid of dogs...

Oh except of course I can’t post a blog without mentioning a new form of my “bad luck.” Hopefully you’ve been following along with my travels and remember that my knee hurt back in Buenos Aires. So much that I could barely walk. Well, it turns out that I don’t have “the leg of a goose,” but rather there is something wrong with my bones. Apparently there are 2 bones that surround the part of the knee that moves. My left bone is smaller than the right so the right one has kindly been pushing the left one and making my knee bend awkwardly. 

That is why apparently I walk a little strangely. It is only noticeable when you look at the soles of my shoes and realize that only the left half is worn off. Obviously I had to mention this because it’s hilarious that I have only been in the country for less than a month and already have appointments for the next month with the kinesiologo, physical therapist. And that I have had a cold for the past 2 weeks. Yup, Santiago is definitely starting to feel like home.

And besides that, I don’t have much else to say. Except that on Thursday the 18^th, it snowed in Santiago. That hasn’t happened for about 15 years. Needless to say, we are in this city during a very very rare time…and I’m enjoying every second of it.

  

That's not rain, its snow. 

A beautiful sunset from my old room

The day after it snowed was extraordinarily beautiful