New town, new family, new house, new school... new life!
“But that's the glory of foreign travel, as far as I am concerned. I don't want to know what people are talking about. I can't think of anything that excites a greater sense of childlike wonder than to be in a country where you are ignorant of almost everything. Suddenly you are five years old again. You can't read anything, you have only the most rudimentary sense of how things work, you can't even reliably cross a street without endangering your life. Your whole existence becomes a series of interesting guesses.” ― Bill Bryson, Neither Here nor There: Travels in Europe
This quote describes exactly how I feel right about now. It's actually scary how accurate it is. I was just thinking today about how I feel like a young kid due to everybody talking to me slowly, helping me with everything and just treating me different in general. I felt exactly like a five year-old when I figured out that cars weren't actually driving 100 m.p.h. on a city road. They were infact driving about 60 MILES per hour and 100 KILOMETERS per hour.
I am now settled in with my new family in Peñalolén, Santiago that I will be living with for a month. They have a very different lifestyle than family in Recoleta did. My first mom would show a lot of affection towards me; I called her mamita and my dad papa. They lived in an apartment building without a car. My new family lives in a neighbor hood (since it's not right in the center of the huge city), they have a car, they don't smoke, I call them Jaime and Marisa, and they have two daughters, one of which is a seventeen year old who is on a year exchange program in The United States. They welcomed me so kindly into their house two weeks ago!
Little did I know that it was National Women's Day on March 8th, but Jaime gave Marisa, Barbie, and me flowers. How sweet! Barbie is my 18 year-old sister that is in University.
As for my new school, it is very small with 30 or less kids in each grade. My school is very ecological with lots of veggie plants, trees, and even four chinchillas! The school is private and has pre-kinder all the way to cuatro medio (12th grade). I have no idea why, but I was placed into the 12th grade and I have decided that I am very happy in this grade. All the kids are so kind to me, helpful and want to talk to me! Also, the classes are a good level for me. My classes consist of elective classes and common classes. Elective classes are the classes you choose to excel in. I have philosophy, language (Spanish), common math, elective Calculus, common chemistry, elective chemistry, common biology, elective biology, art/music, English, P.E., physics, and history. Math and sciences are pretty easy to understand because words in those subjects are very similar throughout different languages. Philosophy and Language Arts are difficult for me to understand in Spanish, though. The grades here go from 1.0-7.0, 7 being the highest. I am very happy with the type of school I am attending, as well as the teachers and my peers.
Schools are VERY different here. We have an hour and a half class, then 15 minutes of break, then another class and then break and so on. All 30 of us in my grade are in all of our classes together, but we split up for the electives. This is different from my high school in the U.S., where classes can have kids from any grade. My school starts at 9 and ends at 4:15. The uniform at this school is very relaxed compared to other private Chileno schools. The high school students wear jeans, sneakers (Vans, Converse, etc.), a shirt or polo from the school, and the school's jacket. We can also wear scarfs, jewelery, belts, and accessories. At other schools skirts, knee socks, a tie, black shoes, and a sweater are a requirement for the girls. Those stricter schools don't even permit finger nail polish.
These are some of the friends I made on my very first day of school. I have never been so thankful for such a helpful and friendly class. Having friends makes the whole transition into not only a new school, but a new school that speaks a foreign language so, so, so much more enjoyable and fun! On Friday, I went to my friend Kiara's house (she's not in this picture). We went to the mall and then went to a BBQ at another peer's house.
I am so excited to improve my Spanish, get to know my peers, and become a local in Peñalolén.
Chao!
Abrazos y besos,
Olivia