First Day!

Hola!

I got into Santiago this morning at 7:45am and went through customs and all that stuff and then stood outside baggage claim looking like a lost puppy until some girl came up to me and showed me where my group was! Everyone is so nice and outgoing, which is great and we hung out at the airport until 12 when our group leaders came and took us out to the buses. We drove about 2 hours and are now in Omulé, which is a small town in between Santiago and Valparaiso. We're staying at a hotel until Sunday and then we are finally moving in with our host families in Vina del Mar. Once we got to the hotel we had a hugeeeee lunch. We first had empanachas and I thought it was the only course and I was really hungry so I wolfed it down, but once our plates were clear they brought us tomato cheeesey soup which I ate a little of and then they brought us like 2 huge pieces of beef with rice and then they brought us ice cream sundaes. So much food. Apparently lunch is their huge meal so at least I now know that for future reference. After lunch we moved into our rooms and they're actually pretty nice hotel rooms with 3 small beds and I have 2 roommates. Then we had a long meeting all in spanish about "culture shock" and what it will be like to be a white, freckly, and blonde... they said people will probably stare at you but don't take it as an insult just smile. She said that the people are very blunt so be prepared....sweet... Then we got an hour of rest time which was nice because i'm pretty dead from my flight and then we had salsa dancing lessons which was hilarious, awkward, and pretty fun. Then we had dinner, salad and turkey and rice and now we're back in the hotel room. Everything is going pretty well, it still hasn't hit me that I'm actually in Chile because the hotel kind of resembles an American hotel and I haven't spoken much Spanish, but I'm sure it will hit me soon enough. I'm really excited to move in with my host family and finally get all settled in. Wow this has been a long and very detailed entry. I think that's all i've got! Adiosss!