Settling In, and Staying Out

This week has been interesting to say the least, and full of new experiences. As far as the school week; it was fairly normal and relaxed. I've begun to settle into my new classes and schedule, but I don't know if I'll ever get used to getting up before the sun and leaving to catch a bus at 7:50 for my first class. The two economics classes with Chileans are going well and I'm happy to say I haven't gotten lost again (yet). And I have even had my first test in Spanish! And it went well! I was a little nervous when it was getting passed out, but the content it covered wasn't very difficult. The only down side of it was that it was on a friday afternoon at 3:00 and it was a beautiful day so that was slightly distracting given the view from my school.

I have started to meet some new people this week, and some Chileans! There was a holiday Thursday and I was lucky enough to be invited out on Wednesday night with one of the Chileans I meet. It was calm night drinking at one of their houses, but then we decided to go out to a club in Valpo. Keep in mind when I say decided to go out it was around 1:00 in the morning already. The parties start here when ours would end in the U.S. We stayed at the club until around 3:00 and then went to another but this one only for a few minutes. And I have to say Valpo is quite an interesting place at night and along the road where all the clubs are. It would not be for everyone to say the least. But when we left is where my night actually got fairly interesting. We got on a micro to head home as normal, and also as normal it was driving crazy but this time there it drove just a little to crazy and ended up getting into a fender bender of sorts with another micro. I didn't know it at first because there was just a swerve and then an abrupt stop, but then everyone on the bus got kicked off and there was lots of confusion. So i decided I would just walk home with my fiends and all was well.

The next night was my friends birthday so of course we went out again. And it was a normal night until a man came up and asked us to join him and his friends for drinks. We said no but he continued to stare at me. After a few more drinks we decided to have some "fun" and try and get free drinks from him. And this is when I found out why he was staring at me... He was gay and to say the least quite attracted to me. To make a long story short after a fair amount of leg touching and attempts to kiss me as well as get my friends to leave me there with him we left. And I think i'm still trying to get my mind around what happened. From now on I will be the only one buying my drinks.

And to finish up what must seem like an obscene amount of going out. We went out yesterday because it was the officially birthday party of my friend if you will. And all that needs to be said is again Chileans stay out forever. But all is well and there is nothing interesting really to say.

If anything else wild happens Ill be sure to post again. Chau!

First Week Down

Well I have made it through my first week back here in Chile, also completing my first week by at school. I am happy to say that everything has been going well. For those of you who followed me last semester you know that my classes weren't terrible difficult and that I spent a lot of time traveling. This semester however I will be spending more time studying and having a more regular college experience here. I have two economics classes this semester; all in Chilean spanish (with the emphasis on Chilean). Luckily after spending a semester here already I understand most of it, but it is still going to take some work to stay on top of everything and to not miss important information. My other two classes shouldn't be too hard as well so I am sure I can do it. I am the only American / foreign student in one of my classes so we will see how that one goes, as I'm sure you can imagine it is a little intimidating. In my other economics class we also have a huge group project to do so that is going to be really interesting, however there are more Americans in that class so at least there is that. I am very excited to be taking actual classes with Chileans, and especially about the economy. It gives me a perspective that you wouldn't get any where else, and it is interesting to here what they have to say about the United States and how we affect them (nothing bad though).

 Even though I have been here for a semester I still had a rather embarrassing mis hap at school friday. Each day you have to check these tv screens to see which room your class is in, since it changes from day to day which is a little odd. But anyway I found my class and then went to what I thought was the right room. After siting for a while and watching all the students come in I then looked up and realized that it wasn't my teacher. And therefore it was the wrong room and class. Luckily I noticed right as class was starting and left before making a scene. I then re checked the board only to find out I did not know where my class was. I then spend the next 15 min. wandering around campus and probably looking like an idiot. I eventually found my class which was basically hidden under the library. I walked in about 20 min late and it just happened to be the class where I am the only American. Luckily they were just doing an activity and I didn't disrupt the teacher or the class. However, needless to say it was an embarrassing moment for someone who has been here 6 months. I look to not repeat this mistake as I now (hopefully) know where every class room on campus is.

This weekend has been relaxed if you will. I went to a party at a friends from last semester on thursday night and then didn't go out friday. And yesterday I went with my host brother to one of his friend's birthday parties which was actually a lot of fun. You haven't partied until you have partied with Chileans. Its not that they go wild its just there is always conversation and music and sometimes dancing. With everyone from my are to the grandparents and the parties go all night. But it was a tame night for Chilean standards as we left at 2am.

I think the hardest part of being back is that the location is familiar but know one else is (not including my family or a few people that are staying a year). I have to make basically all new friends without the orientations or beginning activities I had last semester so that has been rather challenging. I am again trying to make Chilean friends but as with last semester it isn't as easy as you would think. However I now have the communication skills to make them and not just ask them what they like to do on the weekends and their name. So it is a work in progress and I have only been here a week so I'm not too concerned.

I will post again soon with an update. Enjoy the warm summer weather while you can. Its been cold here lately. NOS VEMOS.

Chile Round Two

Well, I'm back in Chile and getting ready for round two of study abroad. I made it all the way back to Vina on my own and have even had a few spanish conversations along the way. This is a great sign because I was a little worried I would forget some Spanish and my navigation skills. But I didn't! It was great to see my host dog and brother and it is also a great sign that they were excited to see me as well and not dreading me coming back. However, my day today as a whole has been go go go. I arrived back in Chile/Vina and had to make my way to the ISA office to fix my visa only to be told I need to bring a credit card and my passport. So I had to go back home then go again to the ISA office after which I went to a Chilean government office. And I am happy to say that at least that went smoothly. However, the process still isn't over regarding my visa (not sure with this bureaucracy if it ever will be). But I am also proud to say I "snuck" past the customs officers today, meaning I used an expired student visa and said I "lost" a specific document to enter in order to avoid paying 160$ more dollars. So given that today has been a success.  I start school on monday and it would be a lie to say I'm not nervous. All of my classes will be in spanish and more difficult classes so we will see how this semesters blogs compare to the last. My goal for this semester is to post more pictures and blog more (better). I miss everyone back home already, but I'm excited to see where this semester takes me. I hope you all enjoy the ride as much as me. Nos vemos!