Día Número Uno!!!

And the moment you've all been waiting for...... a post on my blog called christyinchile that's actually about Christy being in Chile! Buckle up because this is a long one!

I found my gate and sat there for an hour before it was time to board. I sat there for a while like a complete idiot balling my eyes out while reading a letter from Caroline. :) Love you Caroline! The airline lady said that the flight was completely booked and there was no room in the overhead compartments but when I got on the plane there was plenty of space. It was a pretty boring 2 hour flight but I listened to music and watched a couple tv episodes. When I landed in Dallas I followed the signs and took the shuttle to my gate. I sat there for what seemed like forever but was only 3 or so hours. I charged up my laptop, got some Popeyes, texted Katie, and called Dad.

Last meal in America: popcorn shrimp  and mashed potatoes

I hopped on the plane and had a 10 hour flight ahead of me. I had some dinner and then turned on some music and tried to sleep. I probably only slept for 2 or 3 hours because the seats weren't very comfortable.

As we started to land and the plane got out of the clouds, I began to see the mountains! And they are breathtakingly beautiful. I love mountains. I started to get so excited and felt like such a little kid almost jumping out of my seat on a plane full of bored-looking adults.

I got off the plane in Santiago and stood in line for customs for half an hour. When I got to the front of the line I survived by handing the guy all my documents and hoping I had the right ones. Haha. I got my bags and then used my awesome Spanish skills to figure out where to go next. "Buscando para mi familia!" They waved me in the right direction and put my bags through the scanner again. I met another exchange student who just got in and we walked through some doors to 50 people cheering and holding signs with different names on them. My host mom came up and hugged me. She had an American flag and we took some pictures. They soon found out that my Spanish skills were less than what they though they would be. Haha. There to meet me was my mom and dad and a couple who are friends of the family.

Curicó is a 2 and a half hour drive from Santiago. We had been driving for about half an hour when I started to feel sick. We were still in Santiago and we had just been touring and so that explained the excessive sharp turns. We all got out and walked around the streets and in the plaza. I didn't bring my camera because I didn't know where we were going. Now, I always carry my camera.

There was an old Catholic church that we toured which was really beautiful. 

In the Plaza de Armas there were some guys painted completely one color who pretended to be statues of sailors or miners. And when you put money in their bucket, they moved. It was amazing how real they looked. There was one guy completely black who was a sailor and I put some money in and he waved and I waved and then started to walk away. Then he said "hey come back!" and pointed to his cheek. So I went and gave him a kiss and hug. Cuz that's what they do here. (I'll get to it in the next post) And then I walked away. A few steps later my dad informed me that I had black paint all over my chin, lips, and nose. Sooo embarrassing, but hilarious. So I scrubbed it off with a kleenex while cracking up.

After that we went to lunch at a small café. I had a chicken salad sandwich and a hot chocolate. Since it's winter right now, it's pretty chili in Chile. Hahaha. Usually it's about 45 F. I didn't bring any big jackets because I wasn't really expecting it to be this cold... But I have a few sweatshirts and when I need to, I use my older host brother's jacket. Anyways, when we were eating my mom kept asking me if I was warm enough and if my next was cold. I said that I was fine but she insisted on buying me a scarf. It was so nice.

We walked around for awhile after lunch and then headed back to the car for the drive home. An hour later we stopped at a restaurant. I was still super full from lunch an hour before. My mom and I split a meal of braised chicken (pollo) and french fries (papas fritas!) That was lucky because the portion sizes were ginormous. I think the restaurant is known for big portions though. We started off with a huge homemade roll. And then the real meal came out. A platter with 5 (cinco!) chicken breasts. Plus a heaping pile of fries. I could only eat half a chicken breasts and a few fries. I don't know how one person could eat all that.

After the feast, we got back in the car and got to Curicó finally!

I am in LOVE with these mountains

I got to my new house and met my brothers! Felipe (12) and Vicente (10). I wish i could speak better Spansih so I could communicate better with them. But It'll come. They are both very nice and sweet and I think we'll be friends. 

Sorry the color is weird in this picture, my camera was on a different setting

My mom bought me a cake. :) She is so sweet. 

My new room!
And my neatly organized desk! See all those books on it? They're mostly Spanish dictionaries...

 

 The view out my window in my room. Yep, those are bars over my window. They're probably trying to stop me from escaping to Hogwarts. 

 

That night I skyped with Dad and then I had some cake and hot chocolate with the family at about 11. And then I finally got to shower after that long, awesome day. After I was done, I couldn't open the bathroom door to get out... In my defense, it's an old door. My host dad came to rescue and walked away shaking his head and laughing. Bahaha. So embarrassing.

Yep. And that, my friends, is my very first day in Chile! I really want to write about my 2nd, 3rd, and 4th day but it is late, late, late. More will be coming tomorrow, so stay tuned!