...I'll answer to anything. Or nothing, depending on how congested my brain is when you're addressing me.
So, I'm starting my fourth week here and starting to have a bit of a regular schedule; nothing too set in stone, but there have been some consistencies.
After snoozing through my alarm that goes off at 7, I roll out of bed at 8. Yes family, I know this might come as a shock to you, but I am waking up this early. My neighbor Rachel and her padre pick me up for school. He drives us to La Plaza Victoria down the hill, where we catch a collectivo to Casa SIT --- our house-turned-school and program headquarters. Our Spanish classes are in full swing now, four hours every morning. For these, my group is divided into four smaller classes, each led by two professors. The seminars have also started and are held in the afternoon at the Universidad de Santa Maria. We hike up miles of stairs to reach our classroom but are rewarded with a school that looks like a castle and an awesome panoramic view of the bay. And I couldn't really tell ya (due to a slight language barrier) but I believe we're also rewarded with a lecture about different aspects of Chilean culture inside the castle-school. Ok, ok, actually the topics are pretty great --- so far, Economy, Education, Indigenous People, and Environment ---but my comprehension is not.
My Spanish, or at least my own perception of my use of the language, fluctuates. I'm in a "I suck at this" phase currently, but the only way to move out of this is to keep talking. And I've already had some, "Oh, I can talk, kinda!" days too. With every new word, new phrase, new world view, new song, new neighborhood and cafe comes a realization that there is just that much more still out there. At times this is daunting and others inspiring.
This morning I jumped in a collectivo with a feeling of ease. Once settled in and paid-up, I casually asked how the driver was and started a conversation, "For my class I need to bring a new chilenismo every day. Do you have any ideas?"
"Si...?" Silence. Silence.
"For example, a word that chilenos use?" I offered.
"Eh?"
"A word from Chile."
"Eh?"
Again. Man, is my Spanish that bad this morning?
"Oh, yeah," he said, "There's a lot of them."
Silence.
Silence.
Silence.
And then he dropped me off at the completely wrong street, apparently not having understood even that.
On the other hand, a couple days ago a woman asked me -- gringa me -- for directions on my hill. And I understood her. And I knew how to answer her.
Happy people surround me daily. The Casa SIT is filled with them, both the students and the teachers. During breaks, lunch, and any in-between time the school hums while we plow through the tea and coffee selection in our little kitchen and eagerly converse, telling the latest stories from our homestays and making plans for after class. My family is awesome too. I couldn't be more content with my living situation here. My brothers are so sweet -- so 14 and 15 -- but so sweet. They're here when I get back from school and like to stay in their room on their computers but will also humor me and enthusiastically answer my dorky older sister questions. My mamá chilena is sweet too. Lately, she hasn't been letting me get away with just nodding and smiling when she says something and will demand, "Ok, what did I say?" with a smile and little head tilt until I summarize or admit I have no idea. And ever since the first day when I explained that my family calls me Lizee*, she's called me Licey in a great accent.
I'm definitely missing my real family, missing the original "Lizee-lou" from Mom and Dad (but it's actually them you gotta worry about, about to be empty nesters...again), and wishing I could be roadtripping with Katie to Pennsylvania in a couple days....but I haven't been hit with culture shock, and I've been feeling real good. Few!
Abrazos
*Right before I left for Chile my family was debating how to spell this. Mom, you like this version?
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