I sat next to a really nice lady on the plane to Santiago whose husband went to Penn State. We talked about La Católica, where her daughter went to school and one of the universities affiliated with my program.

Freak out moment #1: When I realized I had lost the nice lady and had no one to answer my questions about the Santiago airport, immigration, and customs.

Freak out moment #2. When I realized that I had to speak Spanish to the immigration officers because they don’t speak English. No one flying from Miami to Santiago is dumb enough to not know any Spanish.

Freak out moment #3. When I met my host Mom. Apparently her information that was sent to me is out of date because her kids are a lot older now and I don’t believe they all live with her anymore, if I understood her correctly… She also has a little girl named Antonia who makes the best facial expressions. So far I’ve met Paola (the mom), the older daughter (I forget her name…that’s good….), and Antonia.

First impression of Santiago: There’s way more palm trees here than I expected.

My host mom is very nice, and I understand way more than I expected. I’m all unpacked. She fed me tea and eggs for breakfast and told me about Santiago. She spoke about all of the immigrants that live here (many Korean, Chinese, and Peruvians). I gave her gifts for hosting me (mostly chocolate, because everyone loves chocolate). Antonia wouldn’t eat her lunch, so she ate the chocolate covered pretzels that I brought instead. We discussed my orientation schedule for the next two weeks, and then went to the bank and grocery store. I think my experiences on the flight were way crazier than they have been here so far, but it is nice to relax. I’m sure that will change soon though!

My room.

Location: Providencia, Santiago, Chile