"Traveling is a brutality. It forces you to trust strangers and to lose sight of all that familiar comfort of home and friends. You are constantly off-balance. Nothing is yours except the essential things- air, sleep, dreams, the sea, the sky... all things tending towards the eternal, or what we imagine of it."
Monday, March 28, 2011
Sunday, March 27, 2011
Ok, estoy aqui!
So i made it to Chile with limited problems. The biggest was at the end when I walked out of the tiny Valdivia airport and saw no sign with my name on it. It was all sorted out though and I made it to my new house! My room is great, my family is "superbien"...everything is better than I anticipated.
I've been busy getting to know the others in my program, my family, and the city. Tomorrow we take placement exams for our classes and (more) orientation.
I spent the day at Niebla, which is a coastal town 20min west. The sun wore me out (and added a little color to my face), and I'm ready for bed. The first pictures will come soon!
chao!
I've been busy getting to know the others in my program, my family, and the city. Tomorrow we take placement exams for our classes and (more) orientation.
I spent the day at Niebla, which is a coastal town 20min west. The sun wore me out (and added a little color to my face), and I'm ready for bed. The first pictures will come soon!
chao!
Sunday, March 13, 2011
What a week it will be!
My room is a mess, I'm surrounded by papers: It's finals week and I'm leaving Oregon for six months in three days! Tomorrow I have my last day of work at the History Department office and my Anthropology final. Tuesday I have my Greek Civ final and in the evening, drive up to Portland to get ready for my Wednesday 8:30am flight to Pennsylvania! I am so excited to see my friends and family back home. For my final days in the states, I'll be spending time with my mother in my favorite place: Dewey Beach, Del...enjoying east coast beaches, eating amazing food, and trying not to freak out! On the 24th I leave...Washington Dc to Atlanta, Georgia, ATL to Santiago, Chile!
I'll get into Valdivia on the 25th around 4pm. Chile is in the same time zone as the east coast, so hopefully I won't be too tired! We get the weekend to acclimate: tour the town, meet our host family(!), take placement tests, and get to know the others in our program. There's about 20 of us from the Pacific NW heading down together.
We start classes on March 28th! They run Mon-Thurs- Spanish Grammar and Composition, Spanish Conversation, US and Latin American Relations, and Latin American Literature. On the weekends there may be planned excursions to the coast or nearby ruins (there's going to be a lot of ruins in my life soon) or we can plan our own!
I have never been more equally nervous and excited at the same time. I'm sad to be leaving my wonderful life behind, but I am so ready to make some new adventures and discover a new way of living.
I really must get back to packing. Since I will be traveling after the program ends in July, I am trying to stuff everything into a single 70L backpacking bag...we'll see how this chronic over-packer manages!
I'll get into Valdivia on the 25th around 4pm. Chile is in the same time zone as the east coast, so hopefully I won't be too tired! We get the weekend to acclimate: tour the town, meet our host family(!), take placement tests, and get to know the others in our program. There's about 20 of us from the Pacific NW heading down together.
We start classes on March 28th! They run Mon-Thurs- Spanish Grammar and Composition, Spanish Conversation, US and Latin American Relations, and Latin American Literature. On the weekends there may be planned excursions to the coast or nearby ruins (there's going to be a lot of ruins in my life soon) or we can plan our own!
I have never been more equally nervous and excited at the same time. I'm sad to be leaving my wonderful life behind, but I am so ready to make some new adventures and discover a new way of living.
I really must get back to packing. Since I will be traveling after the program ends in July, I am trying to stuff everything into a single 70L backpacking bag...we'll see how this chronic over-packer manages!
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