Oofta

More than 3/4 of the exchange students are from Germany, France, the U.S. which was… unexpected. I thought it would be more… world-wide, rather than just Europe and North America (though there was one kid from Australia too).

Bonus: seeing all the French kids try jello for the first time was one of the most hilarious moments of my life—they were licking it, slurping it, and tipping the little cup upside down like a DQ Blizzard!

Note: I overheard some exchange students say some pretty nasty comments like “this definitely isn’t a first world country”. Ugh. That bothered me. Not only were they RUDE, they were ignorant. Originally, the term “First World country” was used to describe nations who sided with the Allies during the Cold War; “Second World country” described the Soviet Union and countries of the communist bloc; and “Third World country” described countries that did not align with either. Look here to learn more. 

After all the presentations and lectures and yada yada, we all went outside to play some Chilean games, one of which was a relay.

We played our relay thingamajig in the open space between the trees.

The confusion started when they put bowls of flour on the sand.

2 teams in each game, 5 people on each team. Whichever team finishes first wins.

“Obstacles”:

1. Jump in a sack
2. Find a piece of candy in a bowl of flour using ONLY your face
3. Put a spoon in your mouth, put an egg on the spoon, and walk until you reach the end of the volleyball court—no hands, of course.

By the way, my team won :)

School

Gee, where do I start. 

The first day was incredibly overwhelming, and BEWILDERING. The schedule is insane!!! There are three 15 minute snack breaks (plus pingpong and foosball tables) and different classes every day. Additionally, when it’s time for lunch, people go out to eat, eat home lunch, or just go home. On Mondays there are classes after lunch, but only Mondays. Confused? Yeah, that feeling is practically attached to me at this point.

Luckily, I already have a few friends, which is… relieving. They have been guiding me through all the chaos. 

A couple people were showing me around the city and this is a really bad picture of a really pretty place.

What really, truly surprised me is just how inclusive people here are. In my school in MN, I would probably be ignored—for the most part anyway. But here? I’m more or less forced to be in conversations, whether or not I understand what’s happening. And of course, people are trying to teach me all of the foulest words and phrases that exist.

During the classes… well. I can’t really, you know, understand. Anything. Edit: One month in, I can! So, for the most part, I’m reading (children's books in Spanish or my books in English), drawing, or planning out the most sustainable city possible. I’m going to be an ARTIST by the time I return to the States. 

My assignment for Literature. I wish I could say I was above this reading level.

Note: English class is… dumb. I can’t get 100% on the homework and I’m prettyyyyy sure I’m fluent. 

As for AFTER school… I joined the soccer team. I’ve never played soccer before. I was so lost. SO lost. What are the positions? What does defense do? Are they just supposed to follow people? Where are the zones? ARE there zones?!?! HOW DO YOU KICK THE BALL?!?!?! Unfortunately, when people tried to explain stuff to me… in Chilean Spanish... yeah, I didn’t get it.

My view outside my window this morning—and where I'm going to be practicing soccer so I'm less of a disaster at school.

Language 

During the first few days, I was saying “Halo!” (Hello in Indonesian) rather than “Hola!” (Hello in Spanish). Same with thank you. NOT. GOOD.

This is hard. Learning a new language is hard. Learning a new language right after learning a new language is hard.

To be well and truly honest, I have a newfound fear-ish of social gatherings and meeting new people. Why? This ain’t my language. To my 5 YEARS of Spanish class, WHERE ARE YOU WHEN I NEED YOU? 

Sometimes when I say, “no entiendo” (“I don’t understand”) instead of slowing down or simplifying whatever it is, people just say it LOUDER—which is problematic for obvious reasons. Some people get frustrated when I don’t understand. And some people don’t try to speak to me at all. 

On the flip side, some people are perfectly ok with slowing down and playing charades—I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, climbing the language barrier can be really fun! 

Yes, there are challenges, but this was expected.

Thank you all for reading! 

P.S. I affirm my statements in the past blog: I love my host family. These are the little sisters I’ve always wanted, and the parents are unbelievably supportive and kind.