After our adventures in Santiago Saturday afternoon, the group and I went to a discotheque in the Los Leones neighborhood. It was very different than the United States! We had a lot of fun, but since nightlife in Chile starts and ends later than in the United States, we were all out pretty late which made our ride to Valparaiso the next morning a very sleepy one! However, the drive between the two cities was relatively short (about an hour and a half) and extremely beautiful. There are mountains everywhere, and the contrast in the colors is amazing. Much of the ground is dry and brown, although there are plenty of bushes and trees. When we drove into Valparaiso, we all immediately noticed the colors! Valparaiso, which is the 3rd biggest city in Chile, is also known for being the 3rd most colorful city in the world. There is graffiti, murals, and little splashes of color everywhere you look. Valparaiso is built into the side of the mountains, and when looking down a street or up at the horizon there are beautiful brightly colored houses going up as far as you can see.
We drove to La Casa Central in Valparaiso, which is the main building of La Pontifica Universidad de Catolica en Valparaiso (PUCV or simply just La Catolica). This is the university we will be studying at while we are here for the next six weeks. In the outdoor lobby of La Catolica (most of the buildings here have courtyards in the middle that are outside) we all met our families. My host family is so nice! My mom stays at home, my father is a retired from the navy and works now as a security guard, and they have three daughters. The oldest, Carola, is in her thirties, teaches secondary school, and lives 20 minutes away from Valparaiso with her husband. The middle sister, Sary, is 27 years old and lives at home. She works as a preschool teacher in the afternoons. The youngest, Camila, is 8 years old and is in the third grade. She is so talkative! She always wants to play with me, and tried to convince her mother to let her take me and give me a tour of the city yesterday by herself.
We drove to La Casa Central in Valparaiso, which is the main building of La Pontifica Universidad de Catolica en Valparaiso (PUCV or simply just La Catolica). This is the university we will be studying at while we are here for the next six weeks. In the outdoor lobby of La Catolica (most of the buildings here have courtyards in the middle that are outside) we all met our families. My host family is so nice! My mom stays at home, my father is a retired from the navy and works now as a security guard, and they have three daughters. The oldest, Carola, is in her thirties, teaches secondary school, and lives 20 minutes away from Valparaiso with her husband. The middle sister, Sary, is 27 years old and lives at home. She works as a preschool teacher in the afternoons. The youngest, Camila, is 8 years old and is in the third grade. She is so talkative! She always wants to play with me, and tried to convince her mother to let her take me and give me a tour of the city yesterday by herself.
My family speaks no English, so I am learning a lot of Spanish very quickly. I think I have learned more in the last day than I have learned in all 10 years I have been studying Spanish! I think I understand about 80% of what they say, but I am still adjusting to their Chilean accents so hopefully in a week or so I will understand more. Speaking is the hardest for me because I get flustered easily, but I think I am improving. I have caught a cold from my younger host sister, and I have had a bad headache since I got to Valparaiso (possibly from the altitude or possibly from all the Spanish?) but I am hoping that will go away soon.
Yesterday afternoon, after we ate almuerzo (lunch – the biggest meal of the day) my Chilean mom (Sarah), Camila, Sary and I went to the mall (which is right across from our apartment!) and then went for a walk along the beach. Although the water is freezing, the view is unbelievable! It was dusk, so the whole city was lit up and there were also lights from the big commercial boats docked out at sea. There are tons of playgrounds here almost one every 100 meters, so Camila made sure we got to play on each one J After our walk we returned home and ate Once, the name for the evening meal (the third of four each day). After dinner Carola and her husband left, and I unpacked my bags and we all went to sleep.
This morning, I woke up at 8:15, got ready for school, and ate desayuno (breakfast – bread and tea) with Sary while Sarah took Camila to school. At 9:15, Sary walked me to the Micro stop (bus stop) and we took the green and white Micro into Valparaiso. The Micros run very frequently and are relatively inexpensive, but you have to watch out for pickpockets. When we got to La Catolica Sary dropped me off and I met up with the other students from Villanova and we had our orientation. We listened to a presentation from the directors of the international studies program, then got a tour of the campus (it is incredibly confusing!!), saw where our classes would be, went to a luncheon, and then had a meeting for all of the students with pasantias (internships). My internship is going to be at UCV TV, La Catolica’s television station. I start my internship in the morning tomorrow, and have my first class (Globalization, Culture and Society in Chile) tomorrow afternoon! Sary picked me up after the orientation, and showed me where to go to take the bus back home. When we returned to the apartment, Camila and I played with her dolls, and then after lunch, I took a nap to try and get rid of my headache. Now I think I will go to the mall with some of the other students from Villanova!
Yesterday afternoon, after we ate almuerzo (lunch – the biggest meal of the day) my Chilean mom (Sarah), Camila, Sary and I went to the mall (which is right across from our apartment!) and then went for a walk along the beach. Although the water is freezing, the view is unbelievable! It was dusk, so the whole city was lit up and there were also lights from the big commercial boats docked out at sea. There are tons of playgrounds here almost one every 100 meters, so Camila made sure we got to play on each one J After our walk we returned home and ate Once, the name for the evening meal (the third of four each day). After dinner Carola and her husband left, and I unpacked my bags and we all went to sleep.
This morning, I woke up at 8:15, got ready for school, and ate desayuno (breakfast – bread and tea) with Sary while Sarah took Camila to school. At 9:15, Sary walked me to the Micro stop (bus stop) and we took the green and white Micro into Valparaiso. The Micros run very frequently and are relatively inexpensive, but you have to watch out for pickpockets. When we got to La Catolica Sary dropped me off and I met up with the other students from Villanova and we had our orientation. We listened to a presentation from the directors of the international studies program, then got a tour of the campus (it is incredibly confusing!!), saw where our classes would be, went to a luncheon, and then had a meeting for all of the students with pasantias (internships). My internship is going to be at UCV TV, La Catolica’s television station. I start my internship in the morning tomorrow, and have my first class (Globalization, Culture and Society in Chile) tomorrow afternoon! Sary picked me up after the orientation, and showed me where to go to take the bus back home. When we returned to the apartment, Camila and I played with her dolls, and then after lunch, I took a nap to try and get rid of my headache. Now I think I will go to the mall with some of the other students from Villanova!
Viva la Chile!
Julia Marie
The view of the countryside on the way to Valparaiso
The Valparaiso bay at sunset
The view of Vina del Mar from the beach
View of Valparaiso from the beach
La Camila!
The colors of Valparaiso
The beautiful colorful hills
Los colores de los cerros de Valpo
One of the courtyards inside La Casa Central
Inside PUCV!
Outside of La Casa Central at La Catolica
The city in the hills
