Hola from Santiago, Chile

After what was a long and interesting week, I am finally in Santiago, city of more than 50 people. I really enjoyed the last few days in the campo because I began to feel more at home there. I talked to my parents a lot after dinner, and my sister always was there to hang out with.

The last day we were there, we went up into the mountains to Sol y Sombra (Sun and Shadow) for the entire day. We got up at 6:30 a.m. and piled into a truck with our neighbors and slept until we got there. The place is like a camping ground resort, with a swimming pool, soccer field, and a place to ride horses. We played soccer, Chileans vs. Gringos, ate barbeque, went swimming, and pretty much just layed around. We said goodbye to our teachers that had been with us since the beginning, and at about 9:00 that night, we took the truck back home, singing songs and general merriment.

The actual leaving San Dionisio was like a scene from a movie. We all hugged and kissed and took pictures, and some people cried. We climbed aboard a huge bus that started rolling down the street, and all of our families stayed there and waved and shouted until we were gone.

And now we're all in Santiago, adjusting to a huge metropolitan city. My host mom is Eliana Sepulveda, a woman in her early to mid 60's who lives in a huge apartment complex with 26 floors. Her son Fidel lives in the building also, along with a friend of mine from the program. She has been extremely nice and generous, giving me a cell phone and bus/metro card when I first got there, and just generally being sweet. She and the apartment are the deifnition of high class. I have gone completely from one extreme to another, poor to rich. It is definitely a change, but I feel more at home in the city than the campo.