Familia, Day Uno

Today was the big day. We were all a little nervous after packing up our huge bags, and carrying them the four flights down the hostel stairs. It was the end of orientation, and the beginning of our Chilean home-stays. We waited outside in the back patio, surrounded by suitcases, chatting about what to say to our families. I had only been downstairs for about five minutes when Carmen Gloria (the program director) announced that my family had arrived. My first greeting with my host mom, Alejandra, was very pleasant. She gave me a hug and introduced me to her granddaughter, the five-year-old Javiera. We brought my bags outside and loaded them into Alejandra’s daughter’s (Carola) car. On the drive home we made friendly conversation about the city, my interests, the family, etc.
Upon arrival, Javiera immediately lost any shyness that I had seen at the hostel, and began helping me unpack. As she removed items from my suitcase and referred to me as ‘la gringa,’ I learned that Javiera is really a wild and audacious little girl.

Later, the three of us had a delicious lunch (Chicken and rice – exactly what I’d been craving for the past two weeks of orientation. See, I have this expectation that all Latin American countries should have delicious variations of chicken and rice, but I had yet to have some in Chile). Carmen Gloria told me that Alejandra is known to be a great cook, and she was right. Over lunch, we mostly discussed my culinary likes and dislikes. So this should be a pretty good semester, food wise.

After getting settled, Alejandra, Javiera and I walked to the nearest metro station so that I could get a sense of the neighborhood. On the way back, we stopped at a playground, and watched while Javiera could ran around. Soon, Alejandra and I jumped into short discussions about her past experiences with exchange students, NYC September 11th (In Chile, September 11th 1973 marks the date of the Coup that would bring about Pinochet’s dictatorship), health, education, and economics. It is nice to know that my host mom also has some interest in the sociological issues that I am so passionate about.

Back at home, we had a cup of hot tea and crackers to warm up from the cold. Javiera chatted and walked around restlessly as we had our snack, afterwards when we did some drawing, and even during dinner. It was endearing to watch Alejandra strike a balance between yelling at her granddaughter about her bad manners, and lovingly feed her dinner and dessert. This reminded me of my own mother, and how she is so caring in everything that she does for me no matter what she is saying at the moment.

And now I am warming my feet with a hot water bottle as it is 4 degrees centigrade in my room.

Warmly,
KT