One Week

As of this morning at 8:45 a.m. I have been in Santiago for exactly one week! It feels like so much more time has passed and I don't know if that is a good thing or a bad thing. Santiago is an absolutely massive city with close to 5.5 million people, so I can't say I know the city very well, but I feel like I finally know my way around. Getting to school takes about 45 minutes, but it's worth it. I live in a really good neighborhood and once I'm off the bus, this is what I get to walk by:

 

The Andes

Last weekend all UCEAP students studying in Chile this semester went to Algarrobo for our orientation retreat. It's this absolutely adorable little beach town just south of Santiago. Most of you guys reading this are thinking beach, summer, great! Yeah, it's summer in California, but it's the dead of winter here. That means that the beach was even colder than the city. Although it was sunny most of the time, the temperature dropped to about 35 degrees every night. The scenery was just incredible though. I think I am going to like Santiago, but I feel like the "great outdoors" as they say, is why I came to Chile. Simply breathtaking.

The Copa de America is underway and it's definitely a topic of conversation everywhere. It's being held in Argentina and if tickets weren't so expensive, and the pass over the Andes wasn't so unreliable, I would be there in a second. The futbol culture here is absolutely incredible. A bunch of us went to a bar to watch the Chile v. Mexico game on Monday. It was freaking epic! Mexico lost and I was super bummed, but Chileans got crazy when they won. Mexico scored first and you could hear crickets. Literally no one said anything and people just froze. Quite differently, when Chile scored, the bar boomed in an uproar of cheers and song. c-h-i, CHI! l-e, LE! chi, chi, chi! le, le, le! VIVA CHI-LE! Chile won and literally it was a party in the streets. Call me a traitor, whatever, but I took part in the celebrations. Mobs of people just jumping up and down, singing, cheering, waving the flag, it was exhilarating! After a while the military tanks rolled through and we bounced. All this for a game only in the first round of play. If Chile makes it further, shit's gonna get crazy!

So far my week here has been filled with an immense amount of information and activities. I am constantly going, going, going and by the end of the day I am completely exhausted. It's overwhelming, but I wouldn't have it any other way. A couple of things I have learned:

1. If you drink coffee, instant is your only option.

2. Chileans are CRAZY party people. Generally the night starts at midnight, and you don't arrive back home until 5 or 6 in the morning ( I can't hang...yet)

3. Walmart has made it's way to Chile :( You can find a Lider, Express Lider, or Super Lider within walking distance almost anywhere you are in the city. But literally it's walmart, it's the same company.

4. Pan is EVERYWHERE. If you ever plan on coming to Chile, don't eat carbs for a month beforehand, you will surely get your fill here.

5. Facial hair and beards are in :D This is great news.