Arriving in Chile
Finally being on a plane headed to Chile was one of the most surreal experiences I have had in my life. For two years, I have been anticipating and planning for this trip, and with COVID restrictions ever-changing, it sometimes felt like I would never arrive. But there we were, Isabel and I, navigating the Santiago airport to go through customs, collect our bags and somehow locate our shuttle bus to get to our hotel for the night. We had been traveling for almost 24 hours, from 10pm last Monday night until 10pm the next day, with a layover in Mexico City in between. We had absolutely no concept of time when we finally crashed in our hotel room. All we knew was that we were in Chile and that this was only the beginning of the trip that already felt like a dream.
The next morning, we met Florencia Casanova Luna from the English program at the Universidad del Bío Bío, our new university for the upcoming semester. She picked us up and drove us four hours south to Chillán, a region in Chile where our host families live. When I arrived at my host family’s house, I had no idea what to expect. My host mom had messaged me that they were excited to have me, and I had a picture of what they looked like, but other than that, I didn’t have any other information.
First, I met my host sister, who is also named Florencia, and my host brother, Joaquin, who was nice enough to lend me his room for my stay. He immediately reminded me of my own brother at home, with posters of classic American rock bands hung up all over his walls. I didn’t mind that they were still there, it felt like a part of home.
Later, I met my host dad, Mauricio, and my host mom, Ana María, along with my other host brother, Vicente. They were so welcoming and kind, and wanted to know all of the interesting things about me, my family and my life in the United States. We sat down for “once” which is a meal that Chileans have between their lunch and dinner between 8:00 and 9:00pm. Sometimes this meal even replaces dinner if it goes on for long enough. Usually, there is bread served with butter and ham, or marmalade if you would rather have that, as well as avocado toast. This particular once lasted longer than normal, as the family members were getting to know me, and vice versa. This first meal with them is truly something I will never forget. The new dialect of Spanish that I had never heard before was both overwhelming but also incredibly interesting.
I have already learned and absorbed so much, even though I have mostly found myself sitting and listening instead of participating in most of the conversations. The Chilean dialect is so much faster and more complicated than any other I have heard because they have their own unique slang terms and speak at a much more rapid pace. I’m constantly taking in new information and my family helps me out by explaining as many slang terms as they can and slowing down their speech. I can only imagine how much my Spanish is going to improve by the end of this experience.
Ciao for now,
Jordan
