Today was a good day. It seems like the days here are two things: filled with food and long. Well, also a third thing: I've felt like I need to go bed super early these past couple nights. I could have gone to bed probably at 7 o'clock tonight, and I did fall asleep at 9:30 last night and slept till 8 this morning. I don't think I've slept that long since...well, I don't know when. The nights come quickly here, because the sun sets very early.
Back to the food subject. I really think weight will come super easy here if I'm not careful. I feel like I have food placed in front of me every moment of the day. haha I'll be getting really good at saying, "lleno! Estoy satisfecha!" "I'm full!" The food here is good though, and the meals times are also different here. I kind of like it. Today I woke up and I had my favorite breakfast (yes, they have oatmeal here!!!) I had oatmeal, yogurt, a fresh pear, and coffee. We have TONS of fruit in this house. It is simply fantastic. I just wish I didn't have other food placed in front of me all the time so I had the appetite to it. haha Anyways, I ate my breakfast and while I was eating our maid came. She comes Mondays and Thursdays. It was weird, because she did all my dishes, cleaned up after me, made my bed, does my laundry, does my ironing, and cooks our food for us. WEIRD. I want to say, "No, está bien. Puedo hacerlo." "No, it's ok. I can do it." I feel bad having her do that, but it's her job. I can appreciate that. =) Anyways for lunch I got to come home and eat with Patricio and Cristina. We had a salad for the first course, mashed potatoes and meatballs for the second course, and jello for the third course, "dessert." I also got to try mango juice. FANTASTIC. I could drink it all day. It's pure, all natural. Delicioso.
Now the third thing about days here. They seem long. I got up at 9 this morning, but I feel like I've been up since 6 or 7. Yesterday seemed super long too, but today felt long perhaps because I have done so much. First, I got up at 9 this morning, and I thought that I needed to leave at 10, but it turns out as I was eating breakfast at 9:15 Cristina comes into the kitchen to tell me I needed to be ready in 15 minutes to leave. HA. I was still in my pj's, no makeup, hair was a mess, and I hadn't even finished my food or coffee. Yeah, needless to say, I was late, but it is OK because everything is late here. I think. All I know is they didn't start until a while after I got there. So Cristina went with me to the school today. We took the metro which is literally right around the corner from my house. MAYBE 2 minutes. probably more like 1. So the metro goes along side of the ocean. It amazes me the view that we get to see every day. Once we go to the school, Cristina dropped me off and I went to orientation. I saw my friend Colin from Central and hung out with him all day. Also, I saw my friend Brianna from the airport and we talked too. So orientation was really cool. We got to see the campus and the building where our classes will be held. (We start tomorrow). The building is really old and awesome. I will take some pictures sometime and put them up. Tomorrow we get to go on a tour of Valparaíso after classes. I'm pretty excited for that. When lunchtime came, Cristina picked me up and we went back to the apartment for lunch. After that I go to go back to the school by myself. I felt so cool taking the metro by myself. haha But really..it's cool living and doing things I haven't done before. I mean I've taken the metro in the States, but it has never been part of my daily routine as it will be now. In the afternoon we scheduled our classes. I tested into the highest level of classes, but I sure don't feel like I'm in a high level when I go and talk with locals.
For example, tonight Cristina took me to her daughter's house and they were having dinner. I just sat there not knowing much of what was going on at all. I think also I was really nervous just being apart of a different culture, language, and family that my brain kind of froze. Before we went to her daughter's Cristina took me downtown Viña to buy a cell phone. It was super cheap, only $20. I can use it locally, and Cristina and I can call each other for free. It is a super cute, little white phone. I like it a lot. After we bought the phone, Cristina took me to get ice cream!! It was in such a cute little restaurant. I LOVED it. It was great, because I told her the other day that I liked ice cream, and she took me to get some tonight. They are so great. We sat and talked for a while. She told me about her children and grandchildren. I was proud of myself, because I really could get the idea of what she was saying. It was still REALLY hard for me to catch everything. After today, I was completely ready to come into my room and be alone. It is hard being in a world where you can't communicate like you want to. I guess I can really learn from this experience to help understand what my future clients are feeling like when they can't communicate like they want to. I really hope that after this experience my Spanish will be much better. I can't see how it won't be, because I have learned a lot even from these past 2 days. Colin and I have made a pact to speak in Spanish together, and it is great.
Tonight I had some much needed time in the Word and with Jesus. I am so glad that I am able to have this room to myself and this time to spend with Him. I know that He is with me, and that He will guide me through this adventure. It is great to be able to come into my room, close the door, and just spend time with my Father. It's funny, because I find myself praying in Spanish..even when I try to switch into English I find myself straying back to Spanish. I also write in my journal in Spanish. I just wish I had a Spanish bible. Maybe I'll go to the bookstore and buy one.
Well, that's all for today. I don't know if I'll be able to write this much every day, but I'll try to keep you all up-to-date. Here are some pictures I took today after I got off the metro. I still can't believe this is my daily view.
This is my apartment from where I was standing on the metro. It's the big pink one. :)
Oh! One more thing. I met Carmela today, and she is the grand daughter of Cristina. She often spends the night here, because it is closer to the university than it is from her house. She's really nice. :)
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