La primera impresión

First off, Madeline and I are safe and sound in Chile! Madeline has eloped with her host family to Viña del Mar (near Valparaíso on the coast) for the weekend, so I will take the liberty of writing the first blog post.

I will begin this post with an excerpt of what I wrote while on the airplane … then I’ll describe my first introduction to la vida chilena! And then Mads can add her two cents when she returns.

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I can’t be 100% positive, but I’m pretty sure that, as I stare out my 39A window, I’m seeing mountains. Then again, those black silhouettes that appear to be projecting upward against the backdrop of the rising sun could just be holes in the clouds. The flight map says Lima is to the east. Bolivia is fast-approaching. It’s 7:17 AM Santiago time on July 15th, and I’m set to arrive in about three hours. My mind is not the most reliable right now. The last 36 hours have been interesting, to say the least. While Madeline was probably enjoying her last American meal with her family in Hotlanta, I was preparing to hop on a plane to Dallas, where I’d have a short layover and then head to Santiago. As I was about to go through security, Allison Buterbaugh, also a Vandy participant in this study abroad program, called from Pittsburgh to notify me that our connecting flight in Dallas had been delayed from 10 PM til 8 AM. Since we were required to be in Santiago by 10 AM, that wasn’t going to cut it. Paul Murphy, a refreshingly jolly American Airlines employee, helped me switch to a Delta flight going out of … guess where … Atlanta! I boarded that plane from Kansas City to Atlanta with a barely containable excitement. Madeline was going to be my headrest, and I hers, for the long 9-hour flight. Charming.

But Mother Nature had other plans. Storms in Atlanta caused me to miss my connection in ATL by just minutes. After re-booking for the 10 PM flight out of ATL for the next night, the lovely father-daughter duo of Scott Sr. and Adair Swayze picked up my exhausted, dejected self and shuttled me to their beautiful home. Madeline was on her way to South America. I was on my way to having a slumber party at the Swayze household. I had to smile at the absurdity of the situation.

Those Swayzes, man … they’re something special. They made my inconvenient extra day in los Estados Unidos absolutely wonderful. I awoke Wednesday morning to adorable black lab Jackson patiently waiting outside my door. I then spent some tumble time with a delightfully exuberant 10-month-old named Lacy Elaine … Adair’s progeny for the day. Mrs. Swayze and I had a lunch date at Goldberg’s Deli (apparently an ATL staple), ran some errands, drove through Westminster (further confirming my inordinate obsession with that high school), and arrived home with plenty of time to spare for some Jodi Piccoult and napping. And before I knew it, I was eating my “last American meal” yet again before being whisked away to the airport.

Well, as my 10 PM flight was about to take off, the captain announced a “hydraulics problem” that would take til 3 AM to fix—if the airport had the proper equipment, that is. A chorus of Spanish cusswords filled the air. I recognized many of the faces as those who had begrudgingly waited with me in line last night for re-booking. No way was I going to be delayed two days. By some unusual twist of airport serendipity, our flight crew secured a different plane for us to fly. Of course, re-boarding and mechanical check-ups took until 1:30 AM … but hey. I’m now two hours from Chile!

Fun fact of the day: An airplane “security check” involves taking off all the seat cushions in an airplane, inspecting, and re-fastening them.

So while I will always be one day less of a Latin American than Madeline and Allison, I’ll cherish those sweet, simple memories born of Swayze generosity. That dose of southern hospitality must’ve been God’s way of priming me for really southern living.

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Ahora, Chile. Ahhhh, what can I say. I think I’ll focus on my host family for this post, then describe more about the city and country as I learn and see more. I am enamored with my host family. There’s host brother Alvaro Esteban, my mom Rosa Correa Santelices (pictured below with a dollar she found in my laundry), my dad Carlos González Jedia, host sister Paulina Andrea, host brother Carlos Antonio, and hyperactive golden retriever el René (pictured with Dad below). Alvaro is a civil engineer in Australia, and Carlos Antonio is an air traffic controller in Osorno (southern Chile). He lives with his girlfriend and one-and-a-half-year-old daughter Sofía. Paulina is living at home while she finishes her thesis in engineering for the Universidad Diego Portales. She plays co-ed touch rugby and field hockey, and has invited me to play on both teams … I’m thinking I might go for it! Papá has green eyes, is muy “quirky,” likes to blast French classical music in the car, and is a die-hard aficionado of the Chilean professional soccer team called Colo-Colo (“For a team that has won 29 national titles, it better be your team too …” said Papá). He makes homemade mayonnaise with garlic and lemon (“cosas caseras comunican el amor” … homemade things communicate love). Mamá is the typical Latin American matriarch, always worrying about my comfort and happiness. She has crazy vivid dreams, and harvests and makes her very own marmalade, in three flavors: blackberry, peach, and apricot. By the end of my semester here, my pores will be oozing marmalade. We eat it with breakfast and dinner on big slabs of bread called tortillas, but they’re not your typical Tex-Mex brand. They’re much thicker, and can be peeled into layers almost like string cheese. Mamá buys them hot-n-fresh out of the oven from the local panadería, or bread store, each afternoon.

I can only catch about 40-50% of what my family says to me … Chileans speak verrryyy fast, drop the “s” in many words, and have an entire arsenal of chilenismos (expressions and words that only exist in Chile). All of this makes carrying on a productive conversation difficult. But I’m learning, and everyone is very patient!

Below are pictures of the decorations that greeted me upon arrival + some of my own (BIENVENIDA = WELCOME!). Plus some of my house.

My quaint yellow casa is situated in a district called Ñuñoa, a little to the east of downtown Santiago, closer to the cordillera, or the Andes mountain range. Sidenote: the cordillera, which is very visible from my driveway, was absolutely majestic when I arrived on Thursday. Today, though, the smog (aka la contaminación or, as my mom endearingly calls it, “el esmoke”) COMPLETELY obscured the entire range. It’s like it doesn’t even exist. Rain and increasingly warm weather alleviate the pollution a little, says my family, but as for now I’m stuck with a mountain range that likes to play hide-and-seek.

Hmmm what else … it’s winter now. During the days the temperature is around 50˚, but at night, with temperatures dropping below 30˚, it’s cold. My house is older, so there’s no central heating. We have two estufas, portable gas-powered heaters that can be rolled from room to room for a little bit of heat. But at bedtime, I’ve been sleeping in Under Armor + sweatpants + a sweatshirt + my North Face. I’ve been snuggling with a little rubber pouch filled with hot water, so that helps a little. Otherwise, I’m dreaming of la primavera.

I think I’ll stop here for now, because I am headed out soon for my first taste of Chilean night life with la gringa (girl from the United States) who stayed with my family the whole last year. Carretear = “go out” in Chilean speak. Mamá just gave me a shot of pomegranate, lemon, and honey to prevent "the sickness of staying up late." So don't you worry ... I won't fall ill due to too much dancing! Pues, hasta la próxima vez (until next time …)!

(Oops. I forgot to post this last night. Sorry it's a little dated!).