These pictures show my Chilean family, my apartment, and the surrounding area. Everything is very small, but very nice. In the picture of my family we are having la cena, the nightly meal which occurs around 8:30 or 9:00 pm. The meal consists of a type of meat, bread, salad (no dressing), rice, pasta, or potato, water and juice and a dessert. The first thing my mom did when I arrived was to take me into the bathroom and make me get on the scale. Although I thought this was a bit strange, Cecilia just laughed and said, "Vas a ganar más" which means, you are going to get heavier. It is with pride that the woman of the house serves all the meals and it is disrespectful not to finish everything on your plate. However, the portions are huge and I have had to tell Cecilia many times that I am simply not able to eat so much. She just smiles at me and says in Spanish that I am not to worry, that soon I will be able to eat like everyone else. Así se viven los Chilenos.

Two long flights, one eight-hour lay-over, a bus-ride, and one car-ride later, I am finally living with my Chilean family. Upon arriving in Santiago, the capital of Chile which is located right in the middle of the country, fifty other students from around the world and I spent three days and three nights in a hotel with the Council exchange program. During this time we learned about safety in the city, expectations of the program and of the homestay, got to know each other through many an ice-breaker and orientation mixer, and had a brief introduction to the public transit system in Santiago (all in Spanish of course).

The night arrived when we were to be picked up by our host families and all fifty of us sat anxiously waiting like orphans wondering who was going to take us home. I have been blessed with a great family. My family's name is Gómez and consists of a Dad (Frank), Mom (Cecilia), and two sisters, Maria Jose (aka Koti- 17) and Catalina (aka Cata- 14). We also have a dog named Bam Bam who is an ancient Maltese. My family and I live in an apartment like many families in Santiago. We live in a community called Ñuñoa which consists of mostly middle and upper-middle-class families. I am very lucky here becuase I have my own room and bathroom while many of the students have to share with 7 or 8 other people. I am also lucky because my family has cable and wireless internet, a rare thing in Chile.

This week my days are packed with class - we have six hours a day of an orientation class called 'Contempoaray Chile' in which we are rapidly covering the politics, history, art, culture, geography, and people of the country. Every day we have lectures in Spanish followed by meetings in small groups and then usually a movie or another presentation followed by excursions to historical places in Santiago. I leave home at 8:15 am and arrive home at 6:30 pm where I do homework or hang out with my sisters until we have dinner as a family at around 8:30 pm. Then I chat with my parents and do homework until it's time for bed. Right now the days are long and the schedule is packed, but this will change when we actually enroll in one of the universities here, but classes don't start for another two weeks.

Living in the world of Spanish has definitely been tough. The Chilean accent here is thick and filled with modismos, the Chilean word for slang, or what the Spanish books don't teach you. It has been harder than I thought it would be to function speaking and comprehending Spanish. But for the most part people are patient and are willing to help a gringa out.

My address here is :
Sarah Sanderson
José P. Alessandri 370
Depto. D - 22
Ñuñoa , Santiago
CHILE

We were strongly recommended to purchase a cell phone by the program and my number here is: 011 - 56 - o8 - 727 - 9332

The days are already going by too fast, especially becuase here it is summer and the weather is 75 degrees every day and breezy. I am learning a lot, most days it seems like there is too much to take in all at once. Espero que te vayas bien! -Sarah

My Lord God, I have no idea where I am going. I do not see the road ahead of me. I cannot know for certain where it will end. Nor do I really know myself, and the fact that I think I am following your will does not mean that I am actually doing so. But I believe that the desire to please you does in fact please you. And I hope that I have that desire in all that I am doing. I hope that I will never do anything apart from that desire. And I know that if I do this you will lead me by the right road though I may know nothing about it. Therefore I will trust you always though I may seem to be lost and in the shadow of death. I will not fear, for you are ever with me, and you will never leave me to face my perils alone.
-Thomas Merton, Thougts in Solitude