Viña says hello!
So I finally got to move in with my host family yesterday! After sadly watching the other 38 students embark on their hiking adventure up La Campana in Olmue, I found myself yet again without much to do at the hotel. But after some stationary biking, a shower, and some time wasting, they finally came back for lunch and we were treated to a succession of meat and carbs, carbs and meat, and ice cream. And after one last orientation session we were off to Viña del mar to meet our anxiously-awaiting families.
It was kind of like a circus scene as our two buses pulled into the Viña Sporting Club (a sprawling park complete with horse track and gold-plated fencing) parking lot where various Chilean family members rushed the disembarking American students who were quite vocally freaking out and vowing to push over the crippled one because she was standing in the way of their mama´s chilenas. For a few minutes Amanda and I were pushed to the side by Vivi, who informed us that our families weren´t quite there yet. So we stood and watched as student after student jumped into the arms of overly-excited middle-aged chilean women who wrapped them in their warmth and hospitality. Amanda and I were sad. But soon Amanda and I were happy just like everyone else. My mom, Ana Maria, my older host brother Cris, and his girlfriend Paulena arrived a few minutes later and carried my bags to the car. We drove to their apartment which is pretty small, though very nicely situated. It´s a few blocks from the beach, within a block of a supermarket (!), a couple blocks from Viña´s main avenue, and right near a mall. We had a lovely bit of onces (the chilean form of english tea), and then Cris and Paule took me to the mall to get a cell phone and my ID pictures. My stomach, however, had other plans, and it was a sad mixture of stomach-clutching and mall bathroom orientation. I even broke my first COPA rule: I borrowed money from Paule and left her to pay for my phone as I ran back to the bathroom. Later they drove me around Viña and Valpo, which are absolutely beautiful at night--they light up the hills, betraying the curve of the coast and the rise of the land. Dinner was bread and water; I told my family I lived in a prison in a past life.
That night I was ecstatic to find my very own estufa/space heater waiting for me in my room, along with a small tv with which to entertain myself. I hung around talking with my family, showing them pictures, and giving them my Colorado presents almost late enough to meet my host dad, Richard (weird, right?), who got home right after I went to sleep. It was a good first evening, though, and hopefully my GI tract will acostubrarse before too long. Until then, they have some damn good bread.
It was kind of like a circus scene as our two buses pulled into the Viña Sporting Club (a sprawling park complete with horse track and gold-plated fencing) parking lot where various Chilean family members rushed the disembarking American students who were quite vocally freaking out and vowing to push over the crippled one because she was standing in the way of their mama´s chilenas. For a few minutes Amanda and I were pushed to the side by Vivi, who informed us that our families weren´t quite there yet. So we stood and watched as student after student jumped into the arms of overly-excited middle-aged chilean women who wrapped them in their warmth and hospitality. Amanda and I were sad. But soon Amanda and I were happy just like everyone else. My mom, Ana Maria, my older host brother Cris, and his girlfriend Paulena arrived a few minutes later and carried my bags to the car. We drove to their apartment which is pretty small, though very nicely situated. It´s a few blocks from the beach, within a block of a supermarket (!), a couple blocks from Viña´s main avenue, and right near a mall. We had a lovely bit of onces (the chilean form of english tea), and then Cris and Paule took me to the mall to get a cell phone and my ID pictures. My stomach, however, had other plans, and it was a sad mixture of stomach-clutching and mall bathroom orientation. I even broke my first COPA rule: I borrowed money from Paule and left her to pay for my phone as I ran back to the bathroom. Later they drove me around Viña and Valpo, which are absolutely beautiful at night--they light up the hills, betraying the curve of the coast and the rise of the land. Dinner was bread and water; I told my family I lived in a prison in a past life.
That night I was ecstatic to find my very own estufa/space heater waiting for me in my room, along with a small tv with which to entertain myself. I hung around talking with my family, showing them pictures, and giving them my Colorado presents almost late enough to meet my host dad, Richard (weird, right?), who got home right after I went to sleep. It was a good first evening, though, and hopefully my GI tract will acostubrarse before too long. Until then, they have some damn good bread.
posted by Emily Schulman | 7:31 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home